Exporting Hubris, Importing Innovation: How the U.S. Boosted China’s AI Rise
Washington tried to kneecap China’s tech sector, and accidentally gave it a jetpack. Blocking chips might have sparked China’s biggest innovation boom yet.
The U.S. tried to contain China’s tech rise by choking off chip exports. The result? A self-sufficient, faster-moving rival.
Companies like Huawei, Cambricon, and SMIC are now building their own AI chips; less powerful, yes, but hyper-scaled and supported by China’s vast energy resources and government-led supply chains.
Even with older technology, China’s CloudMatrix supercomputers are starting to edge out Nvidia on raw memory. Meanwhile, America’s export bans are fueling political infighting and missed revenues. Restrictions breed resilience.
- Huawei packs 5x more chips into each server
- China controls its end-to-end chip supply
- Nvidia may lose $50B+ in 2026 from bans
What if resilience doesn’t look like domination, but decentralization? We must stop mistaking control for strategy. In times of constraint, the systems that thrive aren’t the strongest, they’re the most adaptable.
Read the full article on Wall Street Journal.
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