Ankit Pandit — Beijing Strikes Back in US-China Tech Wars

The draft anti-terror law fits into broader plans by the Chinese government to evacuate “key sectors” of foreign software. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the government to use more domestic technology as early as a year ago, at the first meeting of the Internet security and informatization group. In Xi’s view, for China to become a more secure cyber power, it needs to know how its critical software was developed and minimize opportunities for foreign cyber infiltration. This means by 2020, China will look to entirely wean itself off Microsoft operating systems and IBM software solutions to homegrown alternatives (China released its ”people’s OS” in August 2014).... 

[U.S. Trade Representative Michael] Froman has already said that the new law “[isn't] about security,” alleging instead that it is “about protectionism and favoring Chinese companies.” The United States will have a tough time convincing Beijing of the same. Given the confluence of cybersecurity and anti-terrorism issues in this law — two incredibly sensitive topics for China — negotiations will not be easy, if they are possible at all...

The CIA calls this "blowback."

Now that China is developing the soon-to-be largest consumer and business market place it is no longer going to give it away without conditions.

Pandit concludes:

India can lead the way in this new understanding at the global level, since this understanding is necessary to reconcile different viewpoints on the issue of religion. Indians of all faiths and non-religious Indians generally share an understanding of pluralism in the spiritual sphere that is quite different than the understanding found in countries like China or the United States. Whether or not true, religion is here to stay and will not be fading away anytime soon, though its form and organization may change. It is likely that just as religion, or ritual and belief in something metaphysical was around 10,000 years ago, something will be around 10,000 years from now. The tendencies to worship (whether a god or a celebrity in modern times), to create rituals, to attribute meaning to events, and to organize beliefs into systems are all deeply rooted in human nature, and could very likely be evolutionarily built into human psychology. Therefore, religion is a reality of the human experience, and one that needs to be approached with nuance and understanding. In this, the traditions and experience of India can lead the way.

The Diplomat
Beijing Strikes Back in US-China Tech Wars

Ankit Pandit