China is catching up with the West on tech, Microsoft president says

The West shouldn't presume that China is lagging down the U.S. and Europe connected tech developments, Microsoft's president and vice-chairman warned.

U.S-China tensions successful the past fewer years person centered connected the conflict betwixt the 2 nations for tech supremacy, culminating successful a slew of export controls connected captious technologies. Late past year, China's Huawei amazed the marketplace with the merchandise of a smartphone whose reviews indicated downloads speeds associated with 5G, sparking speculation of an evident spot breakthrough that defied U.S. tech sanctions.

Speaking astatine the Web Summit tech league successful Lisbon, Portugal, connected Tuesday, Microsoft's Brad Smith told CNBC that "in galore ways," China is adjacent to oregon is adjacent catching up connected technology.

"I deliberation 1 of the dangers, frankly, is that radical who don't spell to China excessively often presume that they're behind," helium told CNBC's Karen Tso. "But erstwhile you spell there, you're impressed by however overmuch they're doing."

He predicted that Chinese and American companies volition beryllium competing connected exertion into the distant aboriginal and urged U.S. and European companies to collaborate to turn economies and bring caller advancements similar artificial quality to the remainder of the world.

Microsoft has operated successful China since 1992, according to the company's web page, including done its largest probe and improvement halfway extracurricular the U.S. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said past twelvemonth that the steadfast wasn't focused connected China arsenic a home market, but that it provides services to Chinese companies and has a much disposable beingness locally than bash galore different U.S. tech giants.

Asked astir whether commercialized and tech transfers — oregon the question of data, designs oregon innovations — with China volition get much challenging arsenic Washington transitions betwixt the administrations of U.S. incumbent person Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, Smith it was excessively aboriginal tor know.

"The information is, arsenic an American exertion company, we tin bash concern successful China lone erstwhile we are offering a work that the Chinese authorities wants to person there, and the U.S. authorities wants america to bring there," helium said, adding, "And successful immoderate cases they look at, say, a information halfway to enactment a Mercedes oregon a Siemens oregon a Starbucks oregon a General Motors — determination seems to beryllium a level of comfort. In user services, not really."

He predicted that we'll unrecorded successful a satellite wherever immoderate exertion volition determination to China, and it won't beryllium the tech firms that decide.

—CNBC's Jordan Novet contributed to this article.