The good and the bad. Two news came from China for the Russian economy
China is showing Russia an example of how to circumvent American technology sanctions.
Political and economic commentator Alexander Gabuev writes about this, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports, in Kommersant.
He recalls that during the last visit to China by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the question was discussed of how, against the backdrop of new American sanctions, Moscow and Beijing could cooperate in reducing dependence on the United States.
“And last but not least, we are talking about moving away from Western technologies. Russian energy workers and Chinese telecom giants know firsthand how painful technology sanctions can be. And here China can clearly give Russia a head start. Import substitution and the development of competencies in breakthrough technologies have remained a priority for Beijing for ten years, and in the just approved 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) this is one of the key areas,” notes Gabuev.
He recalls that in 2015 Beijing adopted the “Made in China 2025” program, which provides for multi-billion dollar injections into the national system of innovation and science.
“It worried Washington so much that references to the document constantly appeared in the justification and introduction of increased tariffs on Chinese goods, sanctions against Huawei and ZTE,” the author writes.
“Previously, my colleagues and I thought that the Chinese were not capable of industrial innovation, and that everything technological that they produced was simply stolen. But the program was like a cold shower: after taking a closer look, we realized that the Chinese have been innovating successfully for a long time,” the expert quotes a representative of a large German concern who has been working in China for a long time.
It is indicated that China will concentrate on its own solutions in robotics, aircraft engines, electric vehicles, vaccines and medical equipment, agricultural machinery, equipment for shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing and high-speed railways, and geopositioning. Also on the list are artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, chips, semiconductors and supercomputers, brain sciences, genetics and biotechnology, the study of underground and underwater resources, space and polar research.
“Of course, it will not be easy for China to quickly and painlessly abandon Western technologies, but there is a good chance of success. This is both good and bad news for Russia. The good news is that there will be alternatives for some types of equipment. However, the latest high-tech goods that the Russian Federation still supplies to China, such as aircraft engines or equipment for nuclear power plants, will clearly be replaced in the next 5-10 years,” sums up Gabuev.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.