Issue Growing dependence on foreign technology and critical materials

Summary

The report expects the Chinese technological rise to leave the Netherlands and other countries more reliant on foreign technology. This could also bring more frequent trade disputes, as has repeatedly happened around chip technology. Chip manufacturing and the siting of data centres have become geopolitical matters, and the report says the EU needs to strengthen its competitive position here. In its trade war with the United States, China holds a strong card in the heavy reliance of many countries on its rare earth metals, which it uses to reinforce its industrial and geopolitical power. International knowledge exchange at universities has also taken on a geopolitical edge, with growing worry about knowledge security linked to the presence of Chinese students and researchers.