Gaps Persist in American Tech Competitiveness

(NewsUSA) - Three key areas of technology – internet platforms, advanced battery technologies, and next-gen networks – have shown shifts in positions of power between the United States and China in the last few years, according to a recent report from the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI.

Internet Platforms: U.S. Leads. Overall, the United States is ahead of China in terms of market capitalization and use of internet platforms to connect, communicate, and find information. As of July 2024, U.S.-based social media companies had the top four spots in highest number of monthly active users worldwide.

However, the popularity of People’s Republic of China (PRC) platforms, notably TikTok, shows that China’s growing impact on social media is not a fluke. Chinese e-commerce apps Temu and Shein also have experienced a surge in popularity worldwide, and something to watch is China’s Huawei, who plans to launch an app system on par with Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.

Advanced Batteries: China Leads. China currently retains its grip on the battery supply chain, mainly through refinement of critical minerals. In 2023, China refined a majority of three key minerals needed for batteries: graphite (91%), cobalt (77%), and lithium (65%).

The U.S. does not currently rank among the top 10 global EV battery makers, but efforts are underway to increase U.S. competitiveness in the global battery supply chain. Specifically, “the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), aims to reduce U.S. reliance on China for batteries by offering tax credits to companies that manufacture them domestically,” according to the SCSP experts. Looking ahead, AI innovations in battery-related R&D could transform the energy storage sector and will be the lynchpin for the United States to regain an upper hand in the sector. 

Next-Gen Networks: U.S. Leads. The key to next-generation connectivity is low-orbit non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), and the U.S. currently has a strong lead in this area. The success of companies such as Starlink, which has deployed more than 5,000 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, is a prime example.

China is attempting to increase its stake in advanced networks through deployment of 6G networks, for which it has filed nearly double the number of patents as the U.S. On both the technological and standard-setting fronts, the U.S. needs to pay more attention to 6G, or risk losing out to China as it did with 5G.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more about the United States’ position in the global geopolitical technology competition.