Finland’s PM says Europe is too dependent on China for technology

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Europe is currently too dependent on China for technology and should be wary of that reliance, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Thursday.

“Honestly, we already have holes. When we look at chips or semiconductors, we see that, we are too dependent,” Marin said at Slush, an annual start-up event in Helsinki.

Marin said Europe could learn lessons from its dependence on Russian energy, which has contributed to its ongoing energy crisis, as well as shortages of medical supplies amid the COVID pandemic.

“We have to make sure that we have the capabilities and the knowledge to build these technologies and not be dependent on China and other authoritarian states that have a different logic than democracies,” Marin said.

Marin urged Europe to increase its investment in the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

“I’m really worried about this technology part because I worry that we’re making the same mistakes with technology and digital solutions and the raw materials needed to build those technologies,” she said.

Reporting by Anne Kauranen Editing by Terje Solsvik and Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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