Chuanying Lu

The importance of discussing digital geopolitics in the context of China–US competition. Unlike traditional technologies such as nuclear or biochemical weapons, digital technologies like artificial intelligence, algorithms, data, and computing power are virtual, rapidly evolving, and deeply embedded in everyday life.

The wide range of digital technologies, coupled with their strategic indispensability, not only reshapes traditional international relations; it systematically institutionalizes digital geopolitics as an emergent field in which technological capabilities become the new currency of state power. The profound convergence of digital technologies, including information and communication technologies (ICTs), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI), with human society and daily life, consequently, further amplifies the influence of digital geopolitics on great power competition. The leading status of the technological landscape between the U.S. and China is set to solidify further, both in terms of material strength and the international community's recognition. Simultaneously, the profound impact of U.S.-China tech competition on the power architecture of the digital space demands scrutiny: What strategic assets and competitive advantages are these nations vying for within this contested domain? Will these two powers indeed converge toward a tech Cold War? The resolutions to this complex array of questions will prove instrumental in determining the trajectory of the future international order, with a focus on how U.S.-China competition over digital technologies redefines global strategic balance.