Kamala Harris has ‘small picture’ view on US-China tech rivalry, senior Chinese diplomat says

Wu Hailong says US zero-sum mindsets amid ongoing trade restrictions cannot hold back China’s economic progress

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US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the state of Wisconsin on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFP

Published: 7:17pm, 23 Sep 2024Updated: 7:19pm, 23 Sep 2024

Kamala Harris has a “small picture” view of competition with China on space and AI, a Chinese diplomat said in Beijing, where policymakers are weighing up what a Harris presidency might mean for ties between the two countries.

“Harris may be trying to give a cheer and a morale boost to American society, but you cannot always think that you have to win, always assume that others can only lose,” said Wu Hailong, the president of the semi-official China Public Diplomacy Association.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Beijing-based think tank Taihe Institute on Friday, Wu referred to remarks made by Harris after accepting her nomination at the Democratic National Convention last month, when she vowed to ensure that the US, not China, won competition in the 21st century.

“I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence, that America – not China – wins the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen – not abdicate – our global leadership,” she told delegates and party members at the convention in Chicago last month.

But Wu said: “Why cannot everyone win? Why is the US the only one that wins? This perspective is such a small picture and this is the problem with the perceptions of the United States.”

Wu Hailong, former assistant minister of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Handout

Wu, who previously served as assistant minister of foreign affairs and Beijing’s top envoy in the EU and later in UN missions in Geneva, made the comments as Beijing is carefully assessing how a potential Harris administration might handle ties with Beijing.