The Digital Power China (DPC) research consortium and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) cordially invite you to the launch of the new DPC report.
In the geopolitical contest between the United States and China over strategic emerging technologies, Europe aims to preserve its freedom to act and not be constrained by technological (over-)dependencies. Decoupling is not the EU’s goal but rather technological and economic “de-risking.” To this end, European actors have developed several policy instruments that aim to reduce dependencies on China.
Yet most technological development and production ecosystems are highly transnational. Therefore, a high degree of interdependence is unavoidable in the foreseeable future. If technological self-reliance is neither feasible nor desirable, Europe’s participation in these ecosystems must remain indispensable.
Our new Digital Power China (DPC) report, which we are launching with this event, assesses the potential of Europe to establish reverse dependencies to China, thereby maintaining technological indispensability for a time horizon of around 10 years. It proposes concrete policy instruments to enhance European technology excellence based on twelve case studies co-authored by engineers and China scholars based in Europe. Each of these case studies discusses reverse dependencies in a key field: semiconductor lithography, automotive chips, 6G energy saving technology, facial recognition, artificial intelligence in health care equipment, quantum sensing, twin transition technologies, access to genomic data, critical raw materials, space exploration, blockchain for smart contracts, and the role of technical standards.
The new DPC report is generously funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, and the China Knowledge Network (CKN) of the government of the Netherlands, with support from the EU Cost Action “China in Europe Research Network” (CHERN).
Panel:
Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova, Assistant Professor, Rīga Stradiņš University
Jan-Peter Kleinhans, Project Director Technology and Geopolitics, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung
Tim Rühlig, China Fellow, European Commission, DG I.D.E.A.
Araceli Venegas-Gomez, CEO, QURECA (Quantum Resources and Careers)
First Comments:
Benedetta Lacey, Deputy Director, International Strategy, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Tamsin Heath, Deputy Director, Economic Security Unit, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Marc Moquette, Knowledge Envoy China, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands