State of the World

Who's winning the global battle for tech primacy?

Who’s Winning the Global Battle for Tech Primacy? | GZERO Summit | GZERO Media

How is China able to control their tech giants without suppressing innovation?

For Ian Bremmer, one important reason is that there's a big difference between Jack Ma questioning Chinese regulators and Elon Musk doing the same to the SEC.

"In the United States you've got fanboys if you do that; in China, they cut you down," Bremmer told CNN anchor Julia Chatterley in an interview following his annual State of the World Speech.

Still, he says China knows it cannot kill its private sector because it needs to keep growing and competing with American tech firms.

So, who's winning the global battle for tech primacy?

Right now, Bremmer believes the US and China are at tech parity — thanks to their tech giants.

"When we're talking about tech supremacy, we can't just talk about governments anymore."

More For You

Can we still trust Wikipedia in an age of polarization and AI? Cofounder Jimmy Wales joins Ian Bremmer to explain why millions still do.
Can we still trust Wikipedia in an age of polarization and AI? Cofounder Jimmy Wales joins Ian Bremmer to explain why millions still do.

We can't really agree on anything, except for Wikipedia.

Women work in the plastic container assembly area inside the El Oso shoe polish factory, located in Mexico City, Mexico, in its new facilities, after officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security and staff from the Benito Juarez mayor's office arbitrarily and violently remove their supplies, raw materials, machinery, and work tools on January 17 of this year following a coordinated operation stemming from a private dispute. On August 27, 2025.
Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto

50: Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is taking a page out of US President Donald Trump’s book, implementing up to a 50% tariff on more than 1,400 products in a bid to boost domestic production.