The so-called "golden period" of British relations with China, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is 

. Beijing is increasingly posing a systemic threat to British interests and values.

Sunak stated in his first significant address on foreign affairs, that China's relationship with Britain needed to change and that Beijing was "consciously competing for global influence using all the instruments of state power."

Sunak stated in London's financial sector, "Let’s be clear, the so-called 'golden era' is over, along with the naive idea that trade would lead to social and political reform,"

Sunak has received criticism from certain members of his own Conservative Party who believe he is less hardline on China than his predecessor Liz Truss. When he was finance minister the previous year, he advocated for a sophisticated approach to China that would balance human rights concerns with deepening economic connections.

"Of course, we cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs - to global economic stability or issues like climate change. The U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and many others understand this too."

But why is the UK going back and forth with being "hard" on China?

Washington has returned to the old and reliable ways of the technological denial actions that it carried out with its allies during the Cold War.

 American sanctions (of the second generation after the 

 generation in August 2021) is to limit China's ability to buy computer chips, develop and maintain supercomputers, and produce advanced semiconductors.

Although the sanctions are concealed behind military terms—preventing China from gaining access to technologies and goods that could aid the Chinese military—in reality, they target all of the country's major semiconductor players, as well as its civil sector. 

The majority of military applications use older generations of processors rather than more recent versions.

In addition to the most recent sanctions against companies that are already listed on the list of sanctioned Chinese businesses, 31 other companies have been added to their "pending verification list." 

The United States government must get all the information from these companies within two months, or else they would be excluded. Additionally, no American citizen or anyone residing in the United States will be permitted to work for companies that have been sanctioned or are on the list without verification, nor will they be permitted to maintain or repair equipment that has already been delivered.

The semiconductor industry is currently worth more than $500 billion 

, and it is likely to double in size by the year 2030, reaching $1 trillion. 

With these measures, China is expected to account for sizeable percentage of industry growth by 2030, overtaking the United States as the world's leading nation. 

This is the immediate trigger for the sanctions and their attempt to stop China's industrial growth by removing the United States and its allies from the leadership position.

While the measures mentioned above aim to isolate China and restrict its growth, there is a disadvantage for the United States and its allies in sanctioning the Asian nation.

China being the United States' largest trading partner is a challenge, as is Taiwan and South Korea. Imposing these kinds of sanctions on equipment and chips also means destroying a significant portion of their own market without any immediate plans for replacement. 

This is true not only for China's neighbors in the Asian region, but also for European manufacturers. 

For Taiwan and South Korea, China is not only the largest export market for its semiconductor industry, as well as for other industries, but it is also one of its largest suppliers of a variety of goods. It is likely that China's forced separation from the network of providers will be accompanied by a disruption in other industries.

With the latest round of American sanctions, one thing is crystal clear: the neoliberal world of free trade has come to an end. The faster other nations catch on, the better it will be for their people. 

And the term "auto-sufficiency" refers to more than just the seeming ability to support local manufacturing; rather, it refers to the creation of the necessary infrastructure for the advancement of technology and knowledge to support and expand local manufacturing. 

US vs China chip war as the west's next economic hell:

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