Olga Ponomareva, expert at the Economic Policy Foundation, commented for Vzglyad on why Europe is increasingly lagging behind China and the US in technology and in which sectors the EU position is currently most vulnerable.
"The EU's main problem in technological development is not in production costs or a weak academic and scientific-technical base, but in the slow pace of innovation. Recent research by the European analytical organization Bruegel showed that it takes China and the US, on average, two to four months to adapt a disruptive technology. Europe, on the other hand, borrows foreign technologies or implements its own developments three to eight times slower. This is a systemic barrier for all technological sectors," noted Olga Ponomareva.
She emphasized that Europe is particularly vulnerable in semiconductor and chip manufacturing, applied artificial intelligence, and quantum communications. According to Olga Ponomareva, China now dominates several areas related to AI, robotics, and computer vision, and is actively expanding its advantages in chip manufacturing and quantum cryptography.
"Energy is essential for development of the AI economy. In this regard, China’s position is much more favorable than the EU, given the highly diversified nature of its imports, its significant energy reserves, and its cooperation with sanctioned countries, i.e. Russia and Iran, to supply energy products at a discount," concluded Olga Ponomareva.