Allies balk at U.S. efforts to elbow China out in hi-tech field

Whenever the United States is looking to restrict China's technology, it usually pushes allies and other countries to go along with it. But some of those countries are resisting.

Speaking at the Global Tech Day event organized by news website Politico in London on Thursday, officials from the European Union, Malaysia and Singapore voiced skepticism about the U.S.' efforts to elbow China out of the global high-tech trading system. They are also hesitant to join Washington as it looks to thwart China's technology rise, Politico reported.

"For Malaysia, China is an important trading partner," Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysia's digital communications minister, said. "Malaysia is a neutral country; we do adhere to a free market policy."

David Koh, chief executive of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, said his country had become rich because of its open economy and would continue to work with China.

Lucilla Sioli, senior official within the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission, said Brussels would also conduct business with Beijing.

U.S. officials are urging their allies to be more wary of Chinese technology, including attempts to sideline Beijing within the booming telecommunications and semiconductor industries, as well as potential limits on how artificial intelligence is used, Politico reported.

The policy of "de-risking", particularly around high-tech industries, was also problematic, Koh was quoted by Politico as saying. "Our concern is that de-risking, taken too far, will affect the current status quo."

A U.S. ally that has seen a drop in its business because of political pressure is South Korea. Last month, the country witnessed a significant decline in its tech trade with China. Semiconductor shipments from South Korea to China were down 35.7 percent compared with the previous year, its Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.