Narratives of Competition, Competition of Narratives? United States–China Relations, Technology, and the Role of Storytelling

The article addresses the interplay between narratives and competitive dynamics in the context of the United States–China “tech war.” It investigates the narrative shifts that have impacted the salience of technology as part of the relationship between the two states. Unpacking both US and Chinese storytelling, it contributes to the debate on the “tech war” by highlighting that it is through such narratives that objects of competition are being constituted and that actors position themselves. The findings demonstrate that the narratives of competition have changed gradually in the last two and a half decades. Technology has long played an important role in this context. But in the United States, it became even more central as part of the democracy-vs.-autocracy narrative. This narrative allowed the United States to reinvoke traditional identity narratives and assume the role of a global democratic leader while constituting China as a significant Other. The digital authoritarianism narrative emerged as a sub-narrative that has painted technology as an enabler of authoritarianism. For China, on the other hand, technological development is part of its national modernization and ultimately rejuvenation. America’s use of the democracy-vs.-autocracy narrative has been seen as an effort to safeguard its position as a global hegemon. Both states have thus increasingly perceived narrating as a distinct dimension of the competition. The United States and China compete with each other therefore not only in terms of technological performance, but they also engage in a contest of narratives—on their role in the world, the meaning of technology, and the international order.