Biden’s Science Adviser Explains the New Hard Line on China

Following the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, one of her colleagues went to brief Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about submarines, only for Powell to remark that they didn’t care about submarines anymore. Washington downsized its military and embraced globalization, secure in its position as the unquestioned world leader.

“We were riding high,” said Rob Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “We were the center of the internet and the IT economy. China was nothing. … We assumed that would continue in perpetuity.”

China’s unexpected emergence as a serious technological rival has prompted a return to a Cold War-like chill. President Donald Trump began the pivot, launching a trade war against China. Since arriving in the Oval Office, President Biden — who criticized those policies at first — has surprised many by doubling down on Trump’s tariffs and export controls, though with more measured rhetoric and a focus on multilateral cooperation.

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Some, such as Atkinson, say the grants for building new U.S. technological hubs have been distributed too diffusely.

“The whole point of this was you can’t have 50 places,” he said. “There’s not enough money. There’s not enough technology to go around.”