US efforts to secure AI supply chains are doomed to fail: Chinese academic

Washington’s initiatives such as Pax Silica will not succeed by targeting third parties, a conference heard over the weekend

The latest US AI and supply chain initiatives are doomed to fail, according to a prominent political scientist who also argued that efforts to restrict US companies’ access to low-cost Chinese models would backfire.

Instead, he argued, the United States and China should collaborate on driving global economic development to generate the external demand needed to sustain long-term growth.

The escalating technological rivalry between the world’s two largest economies has prompted Washington to set up the international groupings Zheng referred to in an effort to curb Beijing’s momentum and secure supply chains in areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and critical minerals.

Last month, US media outlet Axios also reported that the White House was considering adding several Chinese AI labs to a blacklist that could restrict their ability to use US technology.