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US-China relations
OpinionComment
Imran Khalid
Imran Khalid

Opinion | Instead of blocking China’s tech development, US and EU can learn from its AI governance

  • The EU-US Trade and Technology Council looks set to focus on restricting China’s access to sensitive tech at its coming meeting
  • While Europe’s ambition to be a leader in digital policy is well known, China’s swift implementation of AI regulation holds lessons for both the US and EU

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While many other nations are still stuck at the proposal stage, China has taken the lead in implementing comprehensive measures to govern AI. Photo: Shutterstock
Imran Khalid
The European Union and the US are reportedly looking to join forces to further block sensitive tech transfer to their strategic rivals, while also crafting a road map for the regulation of artificial intelligence.
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The plans, revealed in a leaked draft statement of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council meeting to take place later this month, appear to be targeted at China. The meeting will bring together senior officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in Lulea, Sweden, on May 30-31.

At the meeting, the partners will look to limit US and EU companies’ overseas investment to prevent sensitive technology – AI, quantum computing and biotechnology – from benefiting strategic rivals.

The draft statement says the US and EU will commit to addressing non-market practices, including coordinating export controls on semiconductors and other “sensitive items”, and will hold regular discussions on preventing their companies’ knowledge from supporting the technological advancements of strategic rivals.

Although the draft statement mentions China only twice, the aim, it seems, is to curtail Beijing’s access to technologies that can be used in both the civilian and military domains.
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While Washington is serious about imposing restrictions on US tech investment in China, Brussels may find itself navigating a more delicate path. The EU wants to foster warmer trade relations with China but also harbours security concerns over transfers of European cutting-edge technology to China and data privacy.
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