The real tech wars between the US and China explained by Aresu
"The domain of the XXI century" by Alessandro Aresu read by Tullio Fazzolari
There are news confined to a few lines that almost never attract the curiosity of the writer. But that of the readers probably does. Perhaps they would like to know why the most fearsome drones seen in action even during the conflict in Ukraine come from Turkey. And they certainly wonder what the explanation for quite contradictory facts might be. Typical example: US companies have limits on exporting to mainland China, but Apple's largest factory is in China.
“ The domination of the 21st century ” (Feltrinelli, 256 pages, 20 euros) by Alessandro Aresu finally describes what has not been told so far in a clear and exhaustive way. And above all it gives a key to understanding what is happening in the world's geopolitical equilibrium. The reality is that a war is underway that is rarely talked about because it is an invisible war. Of course, nothing compares to the horrors of actual conflicts. But neither should the consequences of the underground confrontation that pits two giants: People's China and the United States be underestimated. The news reports are limited to the episodes of greater tension from which the objective of Beijing to annex the island of Taiwan emerges or the diplomatic meetings between US and Chinese leaders.
While the Taiwan issue is itself a continuing threat to peace, there is something else. Control of the world economy is at stake between the United States and the People's Republic of China. The decisive battle, as Alessandro Aresu explains, is over technology. And whoever wins this invisible war will effectively dominate the 21st century. The risk that this could be "the Chinese century" is far from remote. With targeted investments, Beijing has secured the possession of most of the raw materials indispensable for new technologies. From lithium to cobalt, Chinese control has had a planetary expansion on mineral resources. The other fundamental aspect is that the West is not the center of gravity of the global manufacturing industry. This role has been largely taken away from him by China and, more generally, by the entire Asian continent.
The escalation did not happen by chance and Aresu tells the architects who are not only political leaders but entrepreneurs, managers or researchers. But "21st Century Domination" also describes what is happening in the US on the technological innovation front. Nor are European progress in the same direction overlooked. It would be a gamble to predict who will win this invisible war. But whoever it is will surely affect the daily life of people all over the world through their technology. Perhaps speaking of microchips or semiconductors is not enough to convey the idea. We understand more by saying that whoever wins will decide what our smartphone will be or what our car should be like. Come to think of it, it's almost worse than Big Brother.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/le-vere-guerre-tech-tra-usa-e-cina-spiegate-da-aresu/ on Sat, 12 Nov 2022 07:51:28 +0000.