How China’s latest export curbs could hurt India

livemint.com:

Last week China announced export curbs from August on gallium and germanium in retaliation to the US barring the export of high-end microprocessors and chipmaking equipment to China. The Chinese want to make it clear that they will fight back against attempts to curb their rise as a global power. Gallium and germanium are used in semiconductors, and if their availability shrinks as the superpowers vie for supremacy, all electronic products will become more expensive.

The narrowing of the digital divide in India would slow down, and the expansion of 5G networks could take longer as consumers struggle to buy 5G-capable handsets. If hostilities are not contained, the energy transition will also take longer and cost more, with disastrous consequences for climate change. The Biden administration’s National Security Strategy 2022 identified China as a systemic rival while downgrading Russia to a regional nuisance.

China is the world’s second-largest military spender, behind the US. China’s navy is the world’s biggest, and growing quickly. With single-minded determination, the Chinese are building up the missile, cyber and space arms of their defence forces and bringing them under unified command while reducing the absolute size of the People’s Liberation Army.

This leaner, meaner military machine is backed by plenty of resources. China’s economy is already second only to America’s – in fact, by some measures, it’s larger. Russia may bristle with nuclear weapons but China is the second-largest publisher of serious research in science and technology.