Cutting off the supply of a critical technology is a double-edged sword. Short-term sure you starve them of that technology. But now you’re encouraging them, with great urgency, to develop that technology stack domestically. Which they may not have done if it was readily, and cheaply available for import.
Engagement is almost always a better strategy. But once an unhinged dictator wannabe and his Chinese counterpart start down the road to isolationism, it’s hard to find an off-ramp.
Cutting off the supply of a critical technology is a double-edged sword. Short-term sure you starve them of that technology. But now you’re encouraging them, with great urgency, to develop that technology stack domestically. Which they may not have done if it was readily, and cheaply available for import.
It’s a great thing from a technological perspective. Having more than one development group will drive innovation.
Engagement is almost always a better strategy. But once an unhinged dictator wannabe and his Chinese counterpart start down the road to isolationism, it’s hard to find an off-ramp.