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The US, China, and the Technology Cold War: How Washington and Beijing are Shaping the Future of Technology

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IMPORTANT EVENT UPDATE: 

In keeping with Stanford University's March 3 message to the campus community on COVID-19 and current recommendations of the CDC, the Asia-Pacific Research Center is electing to make this event available through live stream only. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we do our best to keep our community healthy and well. 

Please join the live stream via Zoom by clicking here at the scheduled time, 4:30 PM, on March 4 to view Adam Segal's talk.

 

Analysts on both sides of the Pacific have described an escalating “technology cold war” between Beijing and Washington. Chinese hackers attack American technology companies and Beijing is reportedly planning on the removal of foreign software and hardware from government offices. Washington is blocking Chinese investments, using punitive measures against Huawei and Chinese surveillance companies, and scrutinizing research collaboration with Chinese universities as well as scientists and students. Both sides believe they are in and have to win a race to dominate 5G, AI, quantum, and other emerging technologies. What are the weapons of the tech cold war, and are the US and China doomed to ever more competition, or can they find common ground for cooperation? What does increasing competition between China and the United States mean for the rest of the world?

Portrait of Adam Segal
Adam Segal is the Ira A. Lipman Chair in emerging technologies and national security and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on security issues, technology development, and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Segal was the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force reports titled Innovation and National Security: Keeping Our Edge. His most recent book, The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age (PublicAffairs, 2016), describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He currently writes for the blog, “Net Politics.”

 

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This event is part of the 2020 Winter/Spring Colloquia series, The PRC at 70: The Past, Present – and Future?, sponsored by APARC's China Program.

 

Adam Segal Director Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program, Council on Foreign Relations
Seminars
The PRC at 70: Past, Present -- and Future?

The Logistics Operations Underlying Retail: US, China, and Japanese Models Compared

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This event is part of the Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project Public Forum Series.

 

Consumption is a major driver of national economies, and scholars often study important differences across consumption patterns across countries, which influence many aspects of their societies and economies. Yet, the underlying business of logistics operations, and how they support countries’ respective retail industries, has as much, if not more impact than simply examining consumer behavior. In this public forum, Ryuichi Kakui, with deep expertise in eCommerce logistics, will explain how logistics are used in retail industries, comparing across the world’s three largest economies: the US, China, and Japan. He will introduce the concept of strategic logistics thinking and the “4C” framework and informs leading strategic logistics thinking. A conversation with Kenji Kushida, who examines how technologies and specific industry dynamics shape varying models of political economies around the world, will then link the area of logistics and retail to important systemic differences and underlying similarities across the world’s leading economies, which are pursuing contrasting models of social, economic, and political organization.

 

SPEAKERS

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Ryoichi Kakui is the founder of E-Logit, the leading eCommerce logistics company in Japan. He has published 29 books related to logistics, Amazon, and “omnichannel” distribution, which have been published in Japan, the US, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam. He is a frequent commentator on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other media. Educated in Sophia University in Japan with an MBA from Golden Gate University, he founded UKETORU in 2015, a app addressing the issue of re-delivery, which escalated to a social issue in Japan.

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Kenji Kushida is a research scholar at the Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. One of this research themes examines how IT technologies shape political economies around the world, and how varying national political economic models shape the development trajectories of technologies. He leads the Silicon Valley – New Japan Project, a sustained platform for research and collaboration between Silicon Valley and the new and emerging aspects as Japan transforms itself.

 

PARKING

Please note there is significant construction taking place on campus, which is greatly affecting parking availability and traffic patterns at the university. Please plan accordingly. Open parking at Stanford University available starting 4:00pm unless otherwise marked. Nearest parking garage is Structure 7, below the Graduate School of Business Knight School of Management.

Seminars
Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

Yoshio Nose

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Global Affiliate Visiting Scholar, 2019-20
Nissoken, Japan
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MBA, MS

Yoshio Nose is a global affiliate visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) for 2019-20.  Nose is the Managing Director of Nose Kozai in Osaka as well as an assistant lecturer with Nissoken.  As a graduate of Kansai University, Nose began his career in civil engineering as a bridge designer.  In 2005, he and his brother began managing Nose Kozai, where he expanded the family business to include the building of airplane parts.  He continued his graduate studies at Kyoto University and received his second masters in 2016.  While at Shorenstein APARC, Nose will research the process of innovation and the building of the supply chain in the U.S.

A Brief Overview of the Current Startup Ecosystem in Japan

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In recent years, "innovation" has become increasingly important for Japan. Developing innovative businesses that are separate from the traditional Japanese business sphere is becoming increasingly crucial for sustained economic growth. In this report, Asakura focuses on some emerging companies that have the potential to drive innovation, and provide some reflections on the Japanese entrepreneurial environment.

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The Third Globalization: Can Wealthy Nations Stay Rich In The Twenty-First Century? (Book Chapter)

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Chapter 4 of this book "Services with Everything: The ICT-Enabled Digital Transformation of Services" was written by John Zysman, Stuart Feldman, Kenji E. Kushida, Jonathan Murray, and Niels Christian Nielsen. The book is edited by Dan Breznitz and John Zysman.

 

 

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Zysman, John, Stuart Feldman, Kenji E. Kushida, Jonathan Murray, Niels Christian Nielsen, and Dan Breznitz

The Future of Blockchain: How it will impact finance, industry, and society (Book Chapter)

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Kenji Kushida's new book chapter, "Blockchain, a Silicon Valley Vantage on its Potential and Challenges" was published in new book, "The Future of Blockchain: How it will impact finance, industry, and society edited by Yuri Okina, Noriyuki Yanagawa, and Naoyuki Iwashita.

The book is an investigation of the potential and challenges of adopting a disruptive technology such as blockchain. Experts on blockchain applications explain the concept of blockchain, how it is being utilized in a variety of areas, and its wide-range impact on economy, industry, business and society, based on cases in Japan and overseas.

 

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Naoyuki Iwashita
Kenji E. Kushida
Kenji Kushida
Yuri Okina
Noriyuki Yanagawa

A Strategic Overview of the Silicon Valley Ecosystem: Towards Effectively “Harnessing” Silicon Valley

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This report provides an overview of the Silicon Valley ecosystem. It draws upon existing scholarship and original insights to derive a picture that is only partially well-known in Japan. Characteristics such as the critical role of large firms for the startup firm ecosystem, the role of Japanese firms in creating the US firms’ “open innovation” paradigm, and the severe lack of local government coordination in providing public transportation creating opportunities for disruptive startups such as Uber, are all aspects of Silicon Valley that are not well-known in Japan. This report also delves into industry-university ties in the crucial research universities of Stanford and University of California Berkeley, highlighting the multifaceted and bidirectional interactions between universities and industry that are often not captured by the common “technology licensing office”-centered view. In the final section, this report briefly reviews a representative set of challenges often cited by large Japanese firms attempting to make use of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, concluding by suggesting areas for further research.

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Kenji E. Kushida

U.S.-China Relations Fractious, Not Fragile, Says APARC Fellow

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Noa Ronkin
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Forty years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, the two superpowers are competing and contesting every arena, from trade to AI research and from space exploration to maritime rights. Instead of what Americans referred to as engagement and Chinese called reform and opening, many experts and analysts now characterize the relations between the two countries as dangerously brittle. Some see a new kind of Cold War in the making. Such assertions, however, argues Shorenstein APARC Fellow Thomas Fingar, “both ignore history and impute a level of fragility that has not existed for many years.”

Fingar reflects on the U.S.-China bilateral relationship in a new article, “Forty years of formal—but not yet normal—relations,” published in the China International Strategy Review. He claims that the relationship is resilient and not destined for conflict, albeit it is beset by a host of aspirational, perceptual, and structural differences.

A political scientist and China specialist who served over two decades in senior government positions, Fingar urges readers to remember that assertions of fragility of the U.S.-China relationship undervalue the strength, scope, and significance of interdependence, shared interests, and constituencies in both countries. These, he says, have a substantial stake in the maintenance of at least minimally cooperative relations.

U.S.-China relations are indeed highly asymmetrical: Chinese citizens and organizations have far greater access to the United States than Americans do to China, notes Fingar. He also recognizes that the troubles that have soured the relationship are more intricate and often more sensitive than those of the past. Decades ago, most of the issues that arose were handled at the governmental level. But now “the number and variety of players with stakes in the relationship and disputes with counterpart actors are much greater.” Furthermore, explains Fingar, the U.S. business community is expressing a stronger voice for government action to change Chinese behavior and is not as consistent an advocate of stability in U.S. policy toward China as it used to be. “This is an extremely important development,” he says, “because it reverses a key dynamic in the U.S.-China relationship.”

Ultimately, however, the two countries and our institutions and people are linked by myriad ties that bring mutual benefits as well as the constraints of interdependence. “I remain confident that we will continue to be able to manage the relationship,” concludes Fingar. He expresses disappointment, though, that normalization of U.S.-China relations remains a work in progress and cautions that merely managing the relationship to prevent it from deteriorating is an unsatisfactory goal that should be unacceptable to both sides. Not only does such a low bar limit what each counterpart can achieve, but it also inhibits the kind of cooperation required to address transnational challenges like climate change, infectious disease, and proliferation of dangerous technologies.

 

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Artificial Intelligence (AI), Intelligence Augmentation (IA), Human Machine Interfaces (HMI): Frontier Research and Policies for Navigating the Future Together

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The diffusion and deployment of technology is not simply shaped by the technology itself. Complementary technologies are often required to derive value from the technology, and other factors such as business models for which the technology solves significant “pain points.” Business organizations that can harness the set of technologies, along with societal factors such as regulations, employment regimes, demographics, social norms, and political dynamics can critically affect how technologies diffuse.

This conference is centered on the technological development, deployment, and diffusion of various forms of human-machine interfaces. In the morning, it examines technologies utilizing AI, IA, and pushing human-machine interfaces to the next level of commercial development (morning session A). It also introduces frontier research in medical fields and focuses on how a design approach has been effective for how medical products and solutions have been developed (morning session B). In the afternoon, it turns to a discussion of policy dynamics and considerations surrounding the use of AI and IA, particularly in broad societal deployments

This conference is a joint production of the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center (APARC) Japan Program’s Stanford Silicon Valley - New Japan Project, and Japanese venture community, Mistletoe, Inc.

Agenda

*Agenda subject to change

9:00 - 9:30             Registration

9:30 - 9:40             Welcome Remarks

9:40 - 11:00           Morning Session A: Next Generation Human Machine Interfaces: From Science Fiction to Reality to Industrial Deployment

Presentations followed by discussion:

Ryoichi Togashi, Program Director, Komatsu

Andrew Pedtke, Co-founder and CEO, Lim Innovations

Lochlainn Wilson, CEO, SE4

Moderator: Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

11:00 - 11:15         Break

11:15 - 12:30         Morning Session B: Bio Design and Medical Technologies, and University-Industry Ecosystems

Presentations followed by discussion:

Atsushi Taira, Chief Growth Officer, Mistletoe, Inc.

Gordon Miller Saul, Executive Director,  Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign

Christoph Leuze, Research Scientist, Stanford Radiological Sciences Lab

Pushkar Apte, Director of Strategic Initiatives, CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, UC Berkeley

Moderator: Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

12:30 - 13:30        Lunch

1:30 - 15:00          Afternoon Discussion: Regulations, politics, and industry dynamic with considerations of accountability and ethics

Presentations followed by discussion:

Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

Mei Lin Fung, Co-Founder, People-Centered Internet

Rosanna Guadagno, Director, Information Warfare Working Group, Stanford University

Mike Nelson, Head of Public Policy, CloudFlare

Moderator: Jaclyn Selby, Research Scholar, Stanford University

15:00                    Closing Remarks

RSVP REQUIRED

Limited seating available. Seats will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.

RSVP Deadline: May 20, 2019

RSVP link: http://www.stanford-svnj.org/52119conference

Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

Patricia (Tish) Robinson

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Ph.D.

Patricia (Tish) Robinson joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center as a visiting scholar from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan from May 2019 - April 2020.

Robinson’s research and teaching focus on managerial mediation and managerial coaching. She has published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Perspectives, and Human Resource Management Review, among others, and her research has received the Academy of International Business Farmer Award and the Academy of Management Richman Award. Other awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, a Fulbright Hayes Fellowship, a Fulbright Faculty Fellowship, a Carnegie Bosch grant, a Japan Foundation Faculty Fellowship, and a Shintaro Abe Fellowship, among others.

Robinson has served on the faculty at UC Berkeley, the NYU Stern School of Business and Harvard University, as well as at the Japan Institute of Labor Policy and Training.  She was appointed a Commissioner on the Fulbright Japan-US Educational Commission by Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, was an outside board director to Eisai Pharmaceuticals, elected an elected Governor to the American Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, and served as a Founding Director of the Society of Organizational Learning Japan under the auspices of Peter Senge.

Robinson received her MBA and Ph.D. from the MIT Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her BA from Pomona College.

Visiting Scholar, May 2019-April 2020
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