Published Paper Details:

Abstract Affecting global socio-economic and geopolitical portraits are the escalated competition of trade and technology between the U.S. and China - making it a turning point with consequential repercussions for the Global South. It started out in 2018 as a mere trade dispute between the two countries and subsequently involved contestation for high-tech supremacy, which enlarged into rivalry over supply chains and strategic influence. Thus, the U.S. imposed tariffs, sanctions, and restrictions with the main target to slow China's progress in AI, semiconductors, and telecommunications; while China reconfigured its trajectory toward self-reliance and strength of economics with developing countries. This article evaluates the pertinent trade provisions, access to technology, and economic dependency with which countries in the Global South find themselves impacted by U.S.-China rivalry. Some countries, on the one hand, benefited generally in terms of increased investments and industrial opportunities, while others suffer strategic dilemmas coupled with increasing dependency brought about by realignment in the supply chain and geopolitical stresses. The growing polarization of international technology standards does even more to complicate the decision-making process for developing economies. The paper will thus seek to answer strategic questions around such changes, arguing that emerging economies must think adaptively to address the tension between economic and strategic options. Findings on how this rivalry plays out in the long run are imperative in determining the dynamics of future global trade, technology governance, and economic resilience in a fast-multipolarizing world.