The U.S. – China Deep Tech Arms Race

About this episode

The episode discusses the evolving U.S.-China deep tech arms race and the implications for technology policy and national security.

For years, the United States told itself a reassuring story: China could manufacture and copy, but it couldn't innovate. That story is no longer credible. From DeepSeek's compute-efficient AI model to BYD's dominance of the global EV market, China is producing both volume and quality across sectors that matter. The question is no longer whether China can compete — it's whether the United States is playing its own hand well. In this episode of TechSurge, host Michael Marks speaks with Vivek Chilukuri, Senior Fellow at CNAS, where he focuses on U.S.–China technology competition, AI policy, and digital geopolitics. Vivek's path from counter-terrorism work at the State Department to tech policy in the Senate gives him an unusually grounded perspective on how government actually functions — and where it keeps failing itself. Vivek and Michael work through the full competitive landscape: the wake-up moments that shifted Washington's focus from manufacturing to technology dominance, why the dual-use nature of advanced technology has pulled the national security community into conversations once left to industry, and what Made in China 2025 actually achieved — and where it fell short…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Marks

Guest: Vivek Chilukuri

Topics covered

• U.S.-China technology competition
• AI policy
• digital geopolitics
• national security
• advanced technology
• manufacturing
• technology dominance

Keywords

• deep tech
• U.S.-China relations
• AI
• semiconductors
• national security
• technology policy
• manufacturing
• CHIPS Act
• Made in China 2025

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CNAS, DeepSeek, BYD, State Department, Washington, CHIPS Act, Made in China 2025

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