- As made clear in Part One of our Report, China's national imperative is the continuing dominance and governance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, it is its ambition at a global level—to become a technological and economic superpower, on which other countries are reliant—that represents the greatest risk to the UK.
- Today, China has advanced research, development and manufacturing capabilities across a broad range of high-tech sectors, from nuclear energy to telecommunications. But, in order to understand China's approach to technology today, you have to look to the past: China's ambition to be a global technological and economic superpower is rooted in its history. China's perception that the Chinese nation—one of the world's great civilisations—was humiliated repeatedly by more technologically advanced Western nations prior to the CCP takeover in 1949 is key to understanding why economic and technological development is central to China's ambitions today. The Intelligence Community, in evidence to the Committee, were unambiguous about the importance China places on this:
The Communist Party of China (CCP) deems both economic well-being and technological advancement as essential to its national security and maintaining power, and to mitigate perceived threats from the West … China's overall aims are to gain technological parity with the West, and eventually to surpass them, in a process it identifies as 'national rejuvenation'.[1]
- China is seeking technological dominance over the West, particularly in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G telecommunications, supercomputing and quantum computing. An assessment by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) summarised the thinking as:
Modern great-power dominance has been based on the mastery of key technologies. China is investing huge sums in a series of 'Manhattan Projects',[2] intended to make it a leader in advanced technologies, which it almost certainly intends to export worldwide.
Success will enable China to project its economic, military and political power globally, as steam and computing did for Britain and the US [United States] respectively in the 19th and 20th centuries.[3]
- ↑ Written evidence—HMG, 18 April 2019. JO subsequently advised that 'national rejuvenation' is in fact a set of broad strategic goals which go wider than technological advantage.
- ↑ The Manhattan Project was the name for the pioneering US project to develop—with support from the UK and Canada—the first nuclear weapon. It began during the Second World War and continued until 1947.
- ↑ Written evidence—NCSC, provided 27 October 2020.
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