December 13, 2023
The Quad’s Role in Shifting to Resilient Technology Supply Chains and Energy Security
Supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with intensifying US-China technology competition, have placed the development of secure and resilient technology supply chains at the top of the Quad agenda. Quad nations have experienced the negative results of China’s aggressive industrial policies aimed at establishing Beijing’s economic and technological dominance in the Indo-Pacific and coercing other nations to support Chinese security and foreign policy objectives.
Semiconductor technology has become a focal point in the US-China technology race.
The vulnerability of global supply chains that run through China became evident during the Covid-19 pandemic when China sought to coerce nations that were dependent on Chinese medical equipment, medication, and pharmaceutical ingredients. Japan had experienced Chinese economic coercion long before the pandemic, particularly in 2010, when Beijing suspended exports of rare earths to Tokyo over a maritime dispute.2 In 2020, China reduced imports of coal, barley, wine, and other products from Australia after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
Read the full article from ADU National Security College.
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