As middle powers will be reliant on US or Chinese tech, Beijing should make its products ‘indispensable,’ academic argues
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenOrange WangPublished: 4:05pm, 12 Jun 2026The EU’s concept of tech sovereignty may prove an “illusion” in a world where artificial intelligence is dominated by China and the US, a Chinese expert has argued, urging Beijing to seize the opportunity provided by Trump to render its products “indispensable” to middle powers.In a bid to help the bloc become “a global leader” in artificial intelligence and protect its “digital independence”, the European Union rolled out its Technological Sovereignty Package last week.The EU defined tech sovereignty as the ability “to develop, control and scale ... critical technologies, infrastructure, services and data”.
On June 4, Canada also designated “building the Canadian sovereign AI foundation” as one of the pillars of its C$2.3 billion ($1.6 billion) national AI strategy.
Those efforts came amid growing unease among these countries about becoming mere bystanders as Beijing and Washington duke it out for AI supremacy.
