Xi Jinping Urges China To Achieve Self-Reliance To Counter US Curbs: 'Necessary To Fight The Tough Battle'

Xi Jinping urged China to become self-reliant in critical technologies to counter U.S. sweeping export control from semiconductors to software.

What Happened: The Chinese president, in a Politburo group study, said the government should provide more policy support for research efforts and strengthen Beijing's "strategic technology power," Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Xi, pledging more funding and tax stimulus to key research institutes, ordered China to use homegrown alternatives to replace foreign technologies.

See Also: China Slams US After Pentagon Official Reportedly Visits Taiwan: Sanctions Lockheed Martin, Raytheon To Supply Military Equipment

"Xi Jinping pointed out that the world has entered the era of big science," Xinhua reported. 

"It is necessary to fight the tough battle for the localization of scientific and technological equipment, operating systems, and basic software."

Although Xi mostly repeated China's existing policies, the comments underscore how the Chinese leadership is setting up the stage to counter the U.S. administration's controls and driving Beijing's technology ambitions. 

This comes as the U.S. imposed a series of restrictions on China's tech sector and has been lobbying allies such as Japan to implement export controls and on what can be supplied to Chinese companies.

The U.S. in October unveiled a set of export curbs aimed at curtailing Beijing’s ability to manufacture its own advanced chips or buy them from abroad to aid its military and artificial intelligence capabilities.

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