The U.S. Has Won The Technology Race Before

• 8.10.2025, 17:33

The example of the long-standing rivalry with Japan is important in the struggle with China.

Anxiety is growing again in Washington. U.S. policymakers fear that China will overtake the United States in key technologies, from artificial intelligence to robotics. Similar fears were voiced in the 1980s, when Japan was considered a threat. At the time, Tokyo seemed invincible - Japanese cars and electronics dominated the global market - and the U.S. seemed doomed to decline, writes Foreign Affairs (translated by Charter97.org).

But by the mid-1990s, America had regained the upper hand thanks to flexibility and an open market. Instead of protectionism, the U.S. relied on competition and innovation. This is what allowed the country to become a leader in the computer age and to displace Japan.

Today, experts warn, Washington is forgetting the lessons of the past. A policy of heavy-handed intervention - including US President Donald Trump's demands on technology companies and the imposition of duties on chip exports to China - threatens to undermine the main source of American success - a dynamic, open economy.

Japan's experience shows that a model based on the coordination of business and government is effective only at the development stage. China is now following the same path, with state subsidies, control over the private sector and centralized management leading to a decline in innovation and stagnant productivity.

The main lesson, analysts say, is not to close off from the world, but to strengthen ties with allies and maintain competition. The U.S. won when it allowed new companies - from Microsoft to Google - to grow on their own, not under the control of giants.

To avoid losing to China, America should not build an "economic fortress" but preserve what has always made it strong - openness, competition and faith in innovation.