Examining China’s telecommunications ambitions

China’s growing influence in the telecommunications sector in recent years has been met with growing controversy. The most prevalent example of this is the United States’ concern over including Huawei technologies in its telecommunication networks and those of its allies and partners around the world. China’s inroads into the telecommunications arena have ignited debates over the geopolitical and strategic importance of telecommunications and the nature of China’s ambitions and strategic thinking in this arena.

In two new reports from the Brookings Institution — “Huawei meets history: Great powers and telecommunications risk, 1840-2021” and “China as a ‘cyber great power’: Beijing’s two voices in telecommunications” — experts examine China’s telecommunications ambitions and provide analysis on China’s differing domestic and international messaging on telecom.

On April 28, the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution hosted a panel of the reports’ authors for a discussion of their findings, moderated by Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon.

Viewers submited questions via e-mail to events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at #ChineseTelecom