The question of instituting new export controls, usually only of interest to specialists, has taken center stage in the current tensions between the United States and China. The Biden administration’s high-technology export controls deliberately blur the boundaries between concerns over military confrontation and economic competition. These rules restrict China’s ability to obtain advanced computer chips to promote the dual objectives of securing or enhancing US technological leadership while also making it more difficult for China to use artificial intelligence and high-performance computers for military purposes. How much of this approach to export controls is new, and how much is part of a long tradition of seeking to sustain technological leadership by regulating trade with political rivals—and allies—in the name of national security?Read More