Why the Sino-US technology Relationship has changed
Author
Huang, Hongyu
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Abstract
I fire årtier var USA og Kina overvejende samarbejdspartnere på teknologiområdet, men siden 2018 er relationen skiftet markant mod afkobling og sanktioner. Denne afhandling stiller derfor spørgsmålet: Hvorfor har den teknologiske relation mellem Kina og USA ændret sig? Med en konstruktivistisk ontologi kombinerer studiet securitization-teori med diskursive tilgange og anvender kvalitativ tekst- og caseanalyse af præsidenttaler (Trump og Biden), amerikanske regeringsdokumenter, lovgivning og kongresdebatter. Analysen sporer en securitiseringsbane: under Trump blev økonomisk sikkerhed koblet til national sikkerhed, hvilket trak teknologifeltet i forgrunden og udløste tiltag som toldtariffer, entity list og Clean Network. Under Biden blev teknologisk lederskab eksplicit defineret som national sikkerhed, ledsaget af initiativer til at fremme amerikansk innovation, udelukke Kina fra nøgleforsyningskæder og opbygge teknologiske alliancer. På trods af omstridt evidens for en direkte sikkerhedstrussel forklarer afhandlingen skiftet gennem ændrede ideer, identiteter og interesser, snarere end gennem materielle kapabiliteter alene. Fokus er afgrænset til teknologihandel, og fundene peger på, at securitiseringen af kinesisk teknologi i USA er udvidet til en bredere vestlig ramme.
For four decades, the United States and China largely cooperated in technology, but since 2018 the relationship has shifted sharply toward decoupling and sanctions. This thesis asks: Why has the Sino-US technology relationship changed? Using a constructivist ontology, it combines securitization theory with discursive approaches and applies qualitative text and case analysis to presidential speeches (Trump and Biden), U.S. government documents, legislation, and congressional debates. The analysis traces a securitization pathway: under Trump, economic security was linked to national security, pushing technology to the forefront and producing measures such as tariffs, the entity list, and the Clean Network. Under Biden, technological leadership was explicitly framed as national security, accompanied by efforts to boost domestic innovation, exclude China from key supply chains, and build technology alliances. Despite contested evidence of a direct security threat, the study explains the shift through changing ideas, identities, and interests rather than material capabilities alone. The scope centers on technology trade, and the findings indicate that the securitization of Chinese technology in the U.S. has broadened into a wider Western framing.
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