Chinese Technology – A Political Tool of the Chinese Communist Party?
Investments in research and development are key factors for the competitiveness of one’s economy, and according to research, the correlation between a country’s technological innovation and its economic power is indeed positive. As Xi Jinping has done everything in his power to utilise Chinese technological supremacy in international politics, it is vital to examine the relationship between technological development and political power to explain how it has come to the point of China soon overtaking the US as the most powerful country in the world.
The Authoritarian Regime as China’s Top Export
China’s global prominence is not only because it is the largest provider of commodities and manufactured goods. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been equally successful in terms of politics and diplomacy, and it manages to do so by selling its authoritarian model across the globe. Whereas developing and fragile states are more susceptible to it, also Western democracies have been receiving these implicit totalitarian elements.