Brief
Peking University strategist says US should be more confident in tech rivalry with China
Yu Tiejun warned of an 'over‑securitisation' of US‑China relations while urging confidence in American innovation.
By Felo News Desk · Published
At the Asia New Vision Forum in Singapore on Sept. 29, Yu Tiejun, president of Peking University’s Institute of International and Strategic Studies, said the United States should be more confident in competing with China in technological innovation, arguing that the rivalry has led to an "over‑securitisation of almost everything" reminiscent of the 1930s.
Yu noted that US tech firms spent more than $400 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, far outpacing the $63 billion spent by Chinese firms, according to Boston Consulting Group data. He also pointed to the higher valuations of Anthropic and OpenAI compared with Chinese AI companies such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI.
Joseph Liow, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Yu’s fellow panelist, said cooperation remains possible in areas like AI governance and biotechnology, but politics is the main obstacle.
Yu added that China seeks to be a stabilising force amid US‑Russia conflicts, while smaller nations in Southeast Asia must balance strategic autonomy against dependence on the two powers.
Key facts
- Yu Tiejun said the US should be more confident in tech competition with China (fortune.com)
- Yu described the current US‑China rivalry as an "over‑securitisation" similar to the 1930s (fortune.com)
- US tech firms spent over $400 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, versus $63 billion for Chinese firms (fortune.com)
- Joseph Liow highlighted potential cooperation in AI governance and biotechnology (fortune.com)
Sources
- [1] fortune.com — originally reported as “The U. S. should be ‘more confident’ and less worried about losing ground to China, says Peking University expert”
