Biden Likely to Win... Will the Anti-Huawei Policy Change?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Even if Joe Biden is elected President of the United States, the anti-Huawei policy stance is expected to continue. Although the level of sanctions may be slightly eased, the bipartisan trend toward 'de-Sinicization' for technological supremacy remains strong.

On the 5th, Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, secured 264 electoral votes, just 6 short of the majority of 270 out of 538 total electors, making his victory highly likely. Experts believe that regardless of the election outcome, the U.S. administration's front against Huawei will persist. The difference will only be whether the approach is abrupt or gradual, as the trend to reduce Chinese companies' dependence on the U.S. and demand technological self-reliance remains unchanged.

Timer Baig, Chief Economist at DBC Group Research Institute, said in an interview with U.S. economic media CNBC, "Even if Biden becomes president, the ICT supremacy competition with China is not an issue that can disappear. Volatility may decrease and different principles may be established, but tensions will continue."

For this reason, the industry expects that the U.S. Department of Commerce's designation of Huawei as a restricted trading entity, as well as the suspension of transactions by companies like Google, Intel, and Qualcomm, will continue for a considerable period. Kim Yang-peng, Senior Researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, pointed out, "The U.S.-China trade dispute over advanced technology began during the Obama administration and has become a China policy stance independent of the administration. Even if Biden is elected president, the policy stance will not change."

However, there remains a possibility that the method and level of Huawei sanctions could shift toward a more conciliatory atmosphere. This is because a significant portion of Biden's core supporters and campaign donors are businesspeople based in Silicon Valley. Rob Atkinson, President of the U.S. think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), assessed, "Many Silicon Valley companies did not support the Trump administration's China policy and want to reverse the damage caused by the hostile stance toward China."

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