US trying to rope allies into suppression: China Daily editorial

In yet another move to crack down on China's high-tech industries, the United States on Monday groundlessly added Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, along with Baidu, BYD, and some other Chinese tech companies, to a list of companies it alleges are aiding China's military.

Meanwhile, to draw its allies deeper into a "de-risking" strategy against China, the US administration has also urged NATO members to allocate defense spending toward efforts to replace components from Chinese high-tech companies in their networks and critical infrastructure.

Joshua Young, the US State Department's China coordinator, reportedly asked officials in Brussels in May to use their defense-related funding to remove Chinese-made equipment and replace it with products from other vendors.

Under pressure from the US, nearly all NATO allies agreed last year to increase overall security spending from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP by 2035. Within this target, 3.5 percent would be directed toward core defense needs, while the remaining 1.5 percent would be allocated specifically to meet Washington's demand for a larger share of transatlantic alliance expenditures. According to a NATO official, this 1.5 percent can be used for defending networks, including replacing vendors.

By urging NATO countries to do that, Washington aims to push its transatlantic allies to reduce reliance on China in key sectors.

The US' bossy attitude toward its allies in the critical field of defense not only makes a mockery of the notion of Brussels having strategic autonomy, it also appears to serve the selfish aims of laying the groundwork for US companies to fill the equipment gap.

Under pressure from the US, some politicians of the European Union are already mulling plans to revise the bloc's Cybersecurity Act to restrict the use of Chinese equipment across various sectors.

Excluding Chinese high-tech enterprises will not help the concerned economies achieve the so-called "security" they seek. Instead, it will severely damage their image as an open market and markedly undermine the confidence of businesses from various countries to invest in the economies.

China will also be left with no choice but to take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses.

Moreover, forcibly removing high-quality and secure Chinese telecommunications equipment will inevitably result in massive economic losses and severely hinder the economies' digital competitiveness.

A joint study by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU and KPMG in May predicts that the forced replacement of Chinese suppliers across 18 critical sectors would cost the EU 367.8 billion euros ($432.83 billion) between 2026 and 2030. The EU would have to replace hardware and write down assets, besides contending ‌with lower efficiency and delayed development of digital networks in Europe.

Thus, some EU members, such as Germany and Spain, have stood up to oppose the EU plan to ban Chinese suppliers from telecommunications networks, with both governments warning that a bloc-wide ban would invite retaliation from China and hugely inflate the cost of Europe's AI infrastructure drive. The dissenting voices highlight the erroneous and unsustainable nature of the EU's proposed China-targeted policy and the US' demands.

In fact, Chinese high-tech companies have always demonstrated openness, transparency and efficiency in the global market. High-tech enterprises, such as Huawei, have earned the trust of customers worldwide through technological innovation and high-quality services. The so-called "national security risks" alleged by the US and some of its allies stem entirely from their own Cold War zero-sum mentality and fear of the rise of Chinese high-tech prowess. The US attempt to pressure NATO allies into using defense funds to replace Chinese equipment will not only waste resources but also severely harm the national interests of its allies.

The US allies should uphold rationality by resisting all baseless discrimination and exclusion, as the prosperity and development of the global economy require cooperation and mutual benefit, not the obstruction of suppression and unilateralism.