Chinese telecoms giant ZTE Corp.'s brush with death after Washington barred it from buying U.S. components was a stark reminder that China's industries still depend on American technology despite Beijing's efforts to catch up.
The Trump administration accuses China of using theft to fill some of those technology needs and is poised to hike tariffs Friday on its goods in a spiraling conflict that could chill global trade. But at the same time, ZTE and other Chinese tech companies pay billions of dollars annually for high-tech U.S. parts and patent rights.
China's ambitious plans to end that dependence by creating its own innovators in fields from robotics to electric cars to biotech are fueling fears of a loss of American industrial leadership. That has worsened tensions in a fraught U.S.-Chinese relationship as business partners, customers and increasingly as competitors.
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