If supercomputer is a race and the race is between the US & China, then such investment from the US federal government using borrowed money is _not_ doing any favour to the US - it might build a few faster supercomputer in the end, but in the long run, such a direct head on competition which fuels Chinese R&D spending in arguably one of the most cutting edge fields is damaging US interests.
Why Chinese are building supercomputers on their own? Because the US laws prohibit any US supercomputer export to China, including the export of core components that can be used to build such supercomputers.
In case you are not familiar with the matter - the above mentioned core components are not some fancy parts guarded by your NSA - we are talking about parts that can be freely purchased on ebay for $300-1000 each.
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If supercomputer is a race and the race is between the US & China, then such investment from the US federal government using borrowed money is _not_ doing any favour to the US - it might build a few faster supercomputer in the end, but in the long run, such a direct head on competition which fuels Chinese R&D spending in arguably one of the most cutting edge fields is damaging US interests.
Why Chinese are building supercomputers on their own? Because the US laws prohibit any US supercomputer export to China, including the export of core components that can be used to build such supercomputers.
In case you are not familiar with the matter - the above mentioned core components are not some fancy parts guarded by your NSA - we are talking about parts that can be freely purchased on ebay for $300-1000 each.