US Strengthens Tech Security Cooperation with UK and Australia... Joint Response to China

Technology Powerhouses Have Been Establishing Policies for Over a Decade
Designation of National Strategic Technologies and Expansion of Export Controls

Major technology powerhouses such as the United States, China, and the European Union (EU) have been establishing national policies related to quantum information technology for over a decade. They have invested large-scale budgets and expanded the designation of national strategic technologies and export controls to protect their own technologies. The phenomenon of bloc formation, centered around the United States and China, is also evident, as they allow exchanges only with key allied countries.

The United States has established a comprehensive support system encompassing relevant departments such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department of Defense (DOD). From 2019 to 2023, the U.S. invested approximately $3.9 billion (about 5.5 trillion won). It is currently pursuing the enactment of the 'National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act' to invest an additional $2.7 billion (about 3.7 trillion won) by 2029 in areas such as international cooperation and application development support.

To maintain technological leadership, the United States has banned investments in China in the fields of semiconductors, AI, and quantum computers. It has also designated core new technologies and related equipment and software, such as quantum computing and advanced semiconductor manufacturing, as subjects to export control. In addition, through security alliances such as AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States), the U.S. is emphasizing cooperation in quantum computing and joint responses to China.

China elevated quantum information technology to a national priority in its 14th Five-Year Plan in 2021, and has made government investments totaling $15.3 billion as of 2023?four times that of the United States and 6.4 times that of South Korea. In August 2023, China included 'quantum information' as one of nine future industries in its new industry standardization pilot project plan. It set performance goals such as achieving a rate of over 60% for the establishment of new standards for universal core technologies and applied science and technology projects, establishing more than 300 international standards, and achieving a 90% conversion rate to international standards in key fields.

China is also actively participating in standardization, for example, by dispatching a delegation of about 15 representatives to the JTC3 General Assembly. However, due to implicit checks by Western countries, China has not been able to take the lead in the situation.

The EU, determined not to repeat its past failure to lead the IT industry despite possessing excellent basic scientific technology, has declared its intention to lead the quantum era industry and is promoting initiatives such as the European Quantum Flagship and Horizon Europe.

In particular, the EU has included quantum computing technology in the list of dual-use controlled items to regulate its export. Some leading quantum technology countries, such as France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, have recently introduced separate export restrictions.

South Korea also announced the 'Quantum Initiative' strategy in April 2024, pledging to invest 6 trillion won by 2034 to become a quantum technology powerhouse. The country is expanding research and development (R&D) investment and promoting technology commercialization and international standardization.

In February, South Korea designated technologies in advanced industries, such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) masks and reticles and cryogenic measurement equipment, as strategic goods subject to export control, thereby supporting U.S. policies to check China.

Park Sungsoo, a professor at Yonsei University’s Institute of Convergence Science and Technology, said, "Although issues are not openly raised during the international standardization process, it is true that there are checks on countries such as China. China is achieving results by developing most technologies independently and is promoting the standardization of its self-developed technologies on the international stage. It is a time when South Korea needs to respond wisely."