Recently, the head of antitrust for the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, Gail Slater, resigned from her post. Per reports from Politico and the BBC, this stemmed in large part from tension with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who grew frustrated with Slater’s insistence on blocking a merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprises, or HPE, and Juniper Networks.

Slater, however, contests the popular characterization of events in a written statement claiming, “As an American patriot, I take national security to heart. This is why I am deeply concerned by allegations from online trolls that I somehow misrepresented the national security implications of the HPE/Juniper merger last year.”

The fact that what should be a routine merger dispute drew in CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who insisted the merger was necessary to keep us competitive with China, shows how corporate governance is no longer merely a domestic affair, but has evolved to become a nexus of competition between the United States and China.

Talk about the technology rivalry between the United States and China usually centers on dramatic topics such as artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles, drone swarms and nuclear weapons. The competition is often described as a battle over computer chips and software. But this narrow focus misses something essential. Technological power is not just about inventions or weapons. It is also about money, corporate strategy and a government’s ability to direct resources toward national goals. In that broader contest, China holds a clear advantage. As Washington struggles to respond, the merger between HPE and Juniper shows how American companies are stepping forward to fill a growing gap.

China’s strength comes from the close relationship between its government and its corporations. Chinese companies operating overseas do not rely........

© Daily Messenger (MPNnow)