Under the pretext of "significant threats" to its security and privacy of citizens of the United States, the Trump administration announced a new five-pronged "Clean Network" program involving Clean Carrier, Clean Store, Clean Apps, Clean Cable, and Clean Cloud policies to exclude Chinese companies.

"The so-called 'Clean Network' is aimed at purging Chinese technology from the U.S. market," according to Long Haibo, deputy director of Innovation and Development Department at the Development Research Center of the State Council, but even if the program is implemented, while inevitably affecting the overseas business of China's telecom and internet companies, the impact is likely to be limited.

Long said companies currently being hurt were mostly Chinese app developers and cloud service providers in the U.S. market; however, the chances of the Clean Network program developing in other countries was small.

He also noted that most of the tech companies being targeted are capable of weathering the storm to a certain extent with the support of the huge Chinese domestic market and new technologies.

Liu Zhengshan, a scholar at the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, said: "The 'Clean Network' program is part of the U.S. government's strategy to contain China's technology development, but like the measures the U.S. has taken before, the program will not shake the foundation of our development."

"The 'Clean Network' clearly goes against the global trend of informatization. Most countries still adhere to open market, and the overall international environment is favorable for China's development," Liu said.

Long added that even in a worst-case scenario, when the U.S. cracks down on Chinese tech companies on all fronts, shaping the U.S. market and the Chinese market, China is still capable of keeping its information and communication networks safe.

Long analyzed that, with 1.319 billion mobile internet users, a digital economy with an added value of 35.8 trillion yuan, and relatively complete industry and supply chains, China's internet companies still have huge potential and competitive edge in the global market.

He also warned that the U.S. has taken aim at China's tech sector, both at the hardware and the software level, and the risk of China-U.S. technology decoupling had increased. 

"China must further accelerate R&D of core technologies in key fields such as integrated circuits and artificial intelligence, so as to turn the tables and better safeguard China's 'digital sovereignty'," Long said.

Content created in partnership with Science and Technology Daily

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