The Bureaucratic War Against China's Semiconductors

International political economy is transitioning out of the early 2000s era of globalization and economic integration. Interdependence, once seen as an economic virtue, is now being characterized as a potential weakness and security threat. Advanced and emerging technology like AI, robotics, or quantum computing, represent a battleground for this shift in thinking because these technologies will reshape the security landscape for our generation as they are adopted for military use, and define wealth and power for decades to come. Since the first Trump administration but also increasing dramatically during the Biden administration, the US has begun a process of 'strategic decoupling' from China, breaking down the economic relationship between our countries with tariffs and export controls. For both administrations, there is a distinct security goal hidden within US-China politics: to cripple Chinese ability to be a leading edge competitor in the semiconductor industry, which represents the core component at the heart of any advanced digital technology seen as a security concern. My thesis will be examining the effectiveness and unintended impacts of the US export control regime. I am doing this by comparing the economic and technological progress of Chinese companies before and after the advent of the export control regime. This process tracing method will allow me to understand how the companies have been forced to respond to changing market conditions, and through that I may gain insight into the effectiveness of the controls.