Questions arise on China's ability to achieve self-sufficiency in critical technology by 2025

Beijing [China], February 1 : China's pledge to acquire critical technology by 2025 has been under scanner despite claims by President Xi Jinping as Huawei, the country's giant telecom company which was projected to be a world leader in 5G technology has to see a decline in buyers within China and facing rejections even in Africa and Latin America, as noted by Hong Kong Post.
In September 2021, speaking at a programme in Beijing, President Xi Jinping had said China would "exhaust all means" to recruit intelligent and innovative professionals from around the world to make the country self-sufficient in technology. He pledged to achieve self-sufficiency in critical technology by 2025.
Today, this plan appears to be in tatters. Huawei, China's giant telecom company which was showcased as Beijing's prowess to unleash a revolution in the world with its 5G-technology, is currently lurching towards its slow and undignified death. The denial of critical technology by the US and its European allies to Huawei has made it vulnerable for rejections even in Africa and Latin America.
Rather the ground reality is that the Chinese tech titan which was projected to be a world leader in 5G technology has to see a decline in buyers within China. For the first time in many years, Huawei has not been one of China's five best-selling phone brands. As per the market research firm Canalys, the top five in order are: Apple, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and Honor, as analyzed by Hong Kong Post.
If a market analysis of Counterpoint Research, a global analysis firm is to be believed, Apple captured a whopping 23 per cent market share in China in Q4 of 2021, making it the number one smartphone brand in the country in terms of the number of devices sold per quarter.
Already, the 27 European Union members have refused to have any amicable ties with China after the latter's despicable treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region and human rights violations of people in Hong Kong. The EU members are also concerned about the aggressive behaviour of China in the South China Sea.
While trying to maintain its economic competitiveness and fulfill its vaunted political ambition to become a global superpower, China was found busy in stealing Research and Development secrets, patents and intellectual assets on an industrial scale, as reported by Hong Kong Post.
From 2016 to 2019, China found itself embroiled in scores of trade theft accusations by the US. According to independent researcher Nicholas Eftimiades' report, Chinese economic espionage activities accounted for USD 320 billion in losses which were about 80 per cent of the total cost of intellectual property theft to the US in 2018.
Despite such exposure against China and its nefarious activities in the US, the UK became the first country in the world to slap a ban on Huawei 5G technology in July 2020. It had ordered the removal of the Huawei kit from 5G networks by 2027. It also banned mobile providers from buying new Huawei 5G equipment on the suspicion that the Chinese government could use the equipment to spy on foreign entities and individuals, according to Hong Kong Post.