Dr. Michael Spencer

Abstract

The US and China have vastly different strategic objectives when it comes to science and technology policy (S&T). The US government’s role in policy creation is to enact policy that helps develop, manage, and support the nation’s technological advancements through direct public investment and/or by providing resources and financial incentives to private sector businesses. It has been successfully used to maintain US technological hegemony in the post-Cold War era despite an environment of administration changes and congressional partisan resistance to administrative policy direction and strategies. China’s science and technology policies in contrast are aimed at transforming China into an international leader in S&T, R&D and high-tech industrial production. China’s S&T policy is being successfully used to transform China into a global leader in S&T R&D and high-tech manufacturing that is challenging the US for technological dominance. The driver for this transformation is China’s senior leadership who strongly believe that aggressive S&T policies, concerted investments in STI, and indigenous high-tech industrial development are the key to ensuring China’s long-term economic growth and national security interests. If US and Chinese S&T policies and strategic ambitions continue at their current pace, they will increase leadership misgivings as to the true nature of each nation’s science, technology and innovation objectives. Action-reaction cycles are already creating negative feedback loops of tension and distrust between the two nations. The results will draw the US and China into a high technology rivalry and inevitable geopolitical conflict.  

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