Editor's note: Both China and the United States are widely believed to be at the forefront of the 5G technology, causing anxiety in the U.S. about losing its unique leadership. Richard Turrin, author of the best-selling "Innovation Lab Excellence," who previously headed IBM's Fintech Innovation Lab in Singapore and IBM's banking risk technology team in China after a 20-year career in banking, shares his views on why the U.S. is feeling threatened when Chinese technology is being used. The opinions expressed in this video are his, and not necessarily those of CGTN.

We're looking at these spheres of influence, whether it be the China tech sphere of influence, or the U.S. tech sphere of influence. And what you see happening now is the U.S. leaning, if you will, on its allies to say, please do not use Chinese technology. So you've got great countries in Europe and you've got smaller developing countries who are ready to roll out on 5G, they're ready to go with Huawei and the U.S. says please don't.

So now you've got a country that is being asked to delay its technological future for the sake of keeping the U.S. and its technology sphere happy. If the U.S. had a competing product, you could at least make the argument and say okay, buy U.S.-made 5G equipment, don't buy Huawei. I get it. That would be a very simple commercial argument that our discussion would be very short. But the U.S. doesn't make a competing product.

The U.S. was the dominant technological power since the end of World War Two. But it is an affront to the United States because for the first time it sees that its technology is not centerstage, advancing the world's technology and it has to share this with China and it is a fundamental change in role, that is, frankly, technologically frightening.

So at some existential level the U.S. feels threatened when Chinese technology is being used to replace their own. It is going to be years before this resolves; this will not have an immediate, peaceful, happy ending. It's going to be the U.S. and China dividing the world into these technological spheres and I fear that it will not be a pleasant future for technology.

I have very bad news. I have lost hope completely. You have to look and if you look at Huawei look at the Huawei 5G systems. They were buying components from the United States. The U.S. put on export restrictions, banning the export of all of these components. So what you see is that U.S. companies were hurt very badly by this ban.

So the U.S. is willing to disadvantage American companies that were exporting as part of Huawei's 5G efforts to China, and they're willing to make that sacrifice. So, the stakes are high. The levels of rhetoric out of the United States are saddening to me as somebody who loves the U.S. as his mother and perhaps China as my father after a decade now it's like watching a family fight. But I do not see an immediate and clear resolution, I see that each country will battle over which sphere of technology it lands in.

Interviewer: Abhishek G Bhaya

Graphic design: Liu Shaozhen

Video editing: Zhang Chunnan, Zhou Tingyu and Feng Ran

Managing editor: Wang Xinyan

Senior producer: Wei Wei

Managing director: Mei Yan

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)