The Next Front in US–China Tech and Trade Competition
The evolving contest over semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and market access is being reshaped by the wider US-China competition – with profound implications for economic security and geopolitical stability.
Export controls, tariffs and divestiture threats were only the ‘opening act’; in this video commentary, Louise Marie Hurel, Research Fellow in Cyber and Tech at RUSI and Dr Tobias Feakin – former Australian Cyber & Tech Ambassador and RUSI Senior Associate Fellow – explore the new phase in the US–China tech and trade confrontation. From the DeepSeek R1 AI model launch which rattled financial markets and appeared to roil Nvidia’s prospects, to Huawei’s rising chip yields, and China's calibrated delay of TikTok’s US divestiture in response to new US tariffs, they trace how each side is recalibrating its playbook across code, silicon and markets.
What are the limits of economic deterrence in this competition? And how are Chinese firms adapting through this evolving contest?
FEATURING
Louise Marie Hurel
Research Fellow
Cyber and Tech
Dr Tobias Feakin
Senior Associate Fellow
