Bilateral Dependence Transformation on Technology Poles (ICT-Trade in Goods) from 2000 to 2019 (in percent)
© Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn *
Technology dependence on the US and China from the rest of the world is highly visible. Overall, the US and China should be considered as technology poles. The graphic shows the trends of different countries’ bilateral trade imports from the US, China, and the EU (ICT goods). From 2000 to 2019, most countries became more dependent on China and less dependent on the US.
Multi-dimensional Dependence Structure (ICT-Trade in Goods) with China: 2000 vs. 2019
© Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn *
From 2000 to 2019, China became the central player in international trade of information technologies. Since China joined the world trade organization in 2001, the ICT trade volume with China from the rest of the world (circumference of the circle) and China’s share in each country’s global trade in ICT (x-axis) increased dramatically. Overall, the bilateral ICT trade dependence on China from the rest of the world widened. Most countries’ bilateral ICT trade dependence scores with China (y-axis) in 2019 were closer to one than in 2000. Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea are the only exception with bilateral ICT trade dependence scores under 0.4.
Multi-dimensional Dependence Structure (ICT-Trade in Goods) with the US: 2000 vs. 2019
© Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn *
In contrast, the US became significantly less central to international trade in ICT goods. Its relevance decreased as part of the deindustrialization and outsourcing of domestic production facilities. Therefore, most countries became less dependent on the US regarding their ICT trade records with the US.
Double Dependence: 2010 vs. 2019
© Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn *
The global structure of technology dependence is bipolar. While the US maintained its dominance in various information infrastructures, China increased its influence in global ICT trade. This chart shows that all countries except South Korea and Singapore locate at the top right quadrant. In other words, most countries are highly dependent on the US and China regarding information infrastructures and ICT trade. In the last ten years, these “double dependences” became greater. Therefore, it would be more costly and difficult for countries to reduce their technology dependence on the US and China.
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