ASPI Strategic Dialogue: West loses tech edge as China advances

The West is locked in a future-defining battle with China and is staring down an autocratic competitor that is ahead in crucial technologies such as surveillance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: AFP

The West is locked in a future-defining battle with China and is staring down an autocratic competitor that is ahead in crucial technologies such as surveillance.

Former Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Sydney Dialogue on Tuesday that the next geopolitical chapter would be defined by technological innovation instead of coercive power, such as military operations, and soft power, such as international aid and cultural exports.

Mr Schmidt said China posed a different threat to the Soviet Union because the former Eastern Bloc power was not competitive in industry or technology.

“We’re locked in a battle with China that will define the future for the rest of our lives,” he said.

“China is not like the Soviet Union. At its height the Soviet Union was only a third of the scale of the United States and though they were certainly dangerous and they were dangerous now they were not fundamentally a global platform competitor that could affect the west.” Mr Schmidt said China was very capable of inventing a new future and had already built a new communications future that included Chinese telco Huawei, 5G internet and the highly popular social media app TikTok.

“The principle of China being able to do first, communication, and second, apps, is something that if you asked me five-years ago I would have said no,” he said.

“They’re on their way to dominating new energy, infrastructure and electric vehicles.

“They’re already ahead in things like surveillance and financial services. What’s next? We need to get our act together.”

Mr Schmidt said it was imperative the West built its own communications platforms that reflected the values of the West and not China.

“Can you imagine if the internet had been built using Chinese principles? Everything would be surveillance all day,” he said.

“That’s clearly not good.”

Office of National Intelligence director-general Andrew Shearer said Australia’s decision to purchase nuclear submarines under the historic AUKUS agreement triggered a necessary debate as the balance of power shifted from the US and its allies.

Mr Shearer said there was an increasing use of military force, most notably in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on the global stage as the West began to lose its competitive edge.

“In some cases that edge is totally gone,” he said.

“We’re seeing a growing overlap between national security, economic security and technology. As these elements become increasingly intertwined and we’re seeing governments around the world grappling with policy responses.”

Mr Shearer said the AUKUS agreement was built on trust and would drive innovation.