The European Union is searching for to forge a stronger alliance with Japan in pivotal know-how sectors similar to synthetic intelligence (AI), as a part of its technique to minimize dependence on China. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton emphasised this initiative in a latest Twitter video, the place he introduced that AI could be a high-priority dialogue subject in his assembly with the Japanese authorities.
Breton acknowledged, “I’ll have interaction with [the] Japanese authorities … on how we are able to manage our digital area, together with AI primarily based on our shared worth.” His feedback recommend an earnest effort to align EU’s technological roadmap with Japan, a rustic identified for its sturdy know-how sector.
An EU-Japan Digital Partnership Council and Shared Pursuits in Semiconductors
The EU and Japan plan to ascertain a Digital Partnership Council to foster collaboration on quantum and high-performance computing. This follows the same council shaped between the EU and South Korea final week, specializing in AI and cybersecurity.
Breton additionally revealed plans to cooperate with Japan within the important semiconductor area. Semiconductors, the integral elements present in a variety of units from automobiles to smartphones, are additionally pivotal in coaching AI fashions. As such, they signify a strategic space of know-how the place nations attempt to place themselves for future benefit.
Japan performs a big position within the world semiconductor provide chain, and it has been actively working to bolster its home business. The truth is, simply final week, a fund supported by the Japanese authorities proposed a $6.3 billion acquisition of home chipmaking agency JSR.
The EU, too, has been striving to fortify its semiconductor business throughout the bloc. This joint curiosity in semiconductors may function a sturdy basis for the proposed EU-Japan know-how alliance.
The Broader Image: De-Risking and Technological Autonomy
The EU’s endeavor to solidify partnerships with technologically superior Asian nations represents a strategic ‘de-risking’ from China. Not like the U.S., which has taken steps to disengage its economic system from Beijing, the EU seeks to reallocate danger by deepening technology-related relationships with allied nations.
Concurrently, the U.S. continues to impose export restrictions on important applied sciences, together with semiconductors, in an try to isolate China. As a part of this technique, Washington has been urging its European allies to comply with go well with.
Final week, The Netherlands, house to one of the essential chip companies, ASML, introduced new export restrictions on superior semiconductor gear. This growth aligns with the broader pattern of countries re-evaluating their provide chains and making makes an attempt to convey semiconductor manufacturing again onshore.
The EU’s transfer to collaborate extra intently with Japan in key technological areas like AI and semiconductors is a strategic play within the broader geopolitical panorama. It not solely seeks to mitigate dangers related to over-reliance on a single nation, but additionally goals to safe the EU’s place within the world know-how race.