China weaponises dual-use tech export controls amid EU-Taiwan arms ties: systemic escalation in geopolitical tech warfare
Original framing: “China bans dual-use items exports to 7 European entities over Taiwan arms sales - Reuters” — Reuters (via Google News)
The historical precedent of US-led tech embargoes against China (e.g., COCOM during the Cold War) is rarely mentioned, despite shaping Beijing’s current approach. The 1982 US-Taiwan Joint Communiqué, which committed the US to reducing arms sales to Taiwan, is a critical context missing from the narrative. Additionally, China’s 2010 rare earth export restrictions—used as leverage against Japan—parallel its current dual-use tech controls, revealing a pattern of economic coercion.
The escalation of dual-use tech export controls between China and Europe is not merely a retaliatory act but a symptom of a deeper systemic shift: the weaponisation of technology as a tool of geopolitical coercion.
This trend mirrors historical patterns of tech embargoes during the Cold War, but today it is accelerated by the rise of semiconductor nationalism and the fragmentation of global supply chains. The narrative’s focus on state actors obscures the role of marginalised voices—Taiwanese pacifists, Uyghur activists, and European pacifist movements—who advocate for demilitarisation and dialogue. Cross-culturally, the conflict reflects a clash between Western binary conflict models and non-Western relational approaches to sovereignty, where tech is seen as a shared commons rather than a strategic asset. The path forward requires reimagining tech governance through multilateral frameworks that prioritise transparency, indigenous knowledge, and cross-cultural diplomacy, lest we sleepwalk into a tech cold war with no winners.