Page 30 - Us China Trade War

US, UK go after Chinese hackers accused of state-backed operations

Hackers linked to the Chinese government launched a sweeping, state-backed operation that targeted US officials, journalists, corporations, pro-democracy activists and the UK's election watchdog, American and British authorities said on Monday in announcing a set of criminal charges and sanctions. The intention of the campaign, which officials say began in 2010, was to harass critics of the Chinese government, steal trade secrets of American corporations and to spy on and track high-level political figures. Western officials disclosed the operation, carried out by a hacking group known as APT31, while sounding a fresh, election-year alarm about a country long seen as having advanced espionage capabilities. The US Justice Department charged seven hackers, all believed to be living in China. The British government, in a related announcement, imposed sanctions on two of the defendants in connection with a breach that may have given the Chinese access to information on tens of millions o

China relaxes rules governing cross-border data flows on business pressure

"The relaxations are meaningful. This is the government's response to foreign companies' complaints," said Tom Nunlist, an analyst at consultancy Trivium

US' proposed ban on TikTok 'not fair', says China's foreign ministry

legislators have raised fears that TikTok's US user data could be passed on to China's government

US House to vote on bill that decides ByteDance-owned TikTok's fate in US

Tiktok CEO Shou Zi Chew will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday on a previously scheduled trip to talk to senators, a source briefed on the matter said

US closely watching exports of chips that could boost China's military

The United States is constantly assessing the need to expand export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that could be used to boost its military, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. The U.S. export controls were first launched in 2022 to counter the use of chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence. Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department broadened the export controls, sparking protests from China's Commerce Ministry that the restrictions violated international trade rules and seriously threaten the stability of industrial supply chains." China said it would take all necessary measures to safeguard its rights and interests and urged Washington to lift the export control as soon as possible. Asked if the U.S. was planning to further broaden the chip export controls to China, Raimondo said in a news conference in the Philippine capital Manila that

China's exports, imports beat estimates, trade surplus of over $125 bn

China's exports and imports for the first two months of the year beat estimates, an indication that demand may be improving as Beijing attempts to boost economic recovery. Exports for the January-February period grew 7.1 per cent from a year earlier, customs data released Thursday showed, higher than the 2.3 per cent rise in December. Imports rose 3.5 per cent from the same time last year, up from a 0.2 per cent growth in December. China posted a trade surplus of USD 125.16 billion. Though China usually releases trade data monthly, the data for the first two months of the year are combined to avoid disruptions from the weeklong Lunar New Year holidays, when many businesses and factories are closed. The world's second-largest economy has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic, as it grapples with weaker demand globally as well as a domestic property crisis that remains a drag on the economy. Demand for Chinese exports has also been weak since the Federal Reserve and central b

US devising tactics to suppress us despite improvement in relations: China

China's foreign minister accused the US on Thursday of devising tactics to suppress China's rise and criticised the Biden administration for adding more Chinese companies to its sanctions lists. Wang Yi, speaking to media during the annual meeting of China's legislature, said that relations with the US have improved since Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met in November, but that America has not fulfilled its promises. If the US always says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major power? If the US gets nervous and anxious when it hears the word 'China,' where is its confidence as a major power? he said. If the US is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself." Wang, a 70-year-old veteran diplomat who has earned Xi's trust, returned to the foreign minister's post last summer after his successor, Qin Gang, was abruptly dismissed without explanation after a half year on the job. Analysts had speculated the ruling Communist Party might use

First time in 2 decades, Mexico overtakes China as leading exporter to US

For the first time in more than two decades, Mexico last year surpassed China as the leading source of goods imported to the United States. The shift reflects the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing as well as US efforts to import from countries that are friendlier and closer to home. Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department show that the value of goods imported to the United States from Mexico rose nearly 5% from 2022 to 2023, to more than $475 billion. At the same time, the value of Chinese imports imports tumbled 20% to $427 billion. The last time that Mexican goods imported to the United States exceeded the value of China's imports was in 2002. Economic relations between the United States and China have severely deteriorated in recent years as Beijing has fought aggressively on trade and made ominous military gestures in the Far East. The Trump administration began imposing tariffs on Chinese imports in 2018, arguing that Beijing's trade practices

TikTok CEO Shou Chew grilled by US lawmakers regarding China connections

The grilling was held at a dramatic Senate Judiciary Committee hearing of the CEOs of major tech companies, who faced intense scrutiny over the potential harms of their platforms on teens

Beijing steps up military pressure on Taiwan after US, China announce talks

China sent more than 30 warplanes and a group of navy ships toward Taiwan, the island's defense ministry said Saturday. The military pressure comes on the heels of an announcement that senior American and Chinese representatives were expected to meet in the Thai capital as the two countries seek to cool tensions. The Chinese People's Liberation Army sent 33 aircraft, including SU-30 fighters, and six navy vessels around Taiwan, between 6 am Friday to 6 am Saturday. Of these, 13 warplanes crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait an unofficial boundary that's considered a buffer between the island and mainland. Taiwan has monitored the situation and employed its own forces in response to the activities. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and in recent years has shown is displeasure at political activities in Taiwan by sending military planes and ships. Taiwan said six Chinese balloons either flew over the island or through airspace just north of it days after the ...

US delegation affirms bipartisan support to Taiwan, first since election

A bipartisan delegation from the United States Congress reaffirmed support for Taiwan during a visit Thursday, following the election of its new president. The delegation's visit is the first from US lawmakers to the island since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won a third-straight term in the Jan 13 presidential election. China, America's chief competitor for global influence, claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to use force to bring the self-ruling island under its control. Beijing strongly condemned Lai Ching-te's election and appears set to continue its policy of refusing to engage with the island's government - a practice that's been in place since Tsai Ing-wen's election in 2016. The support of the United States for Taiwan is firm. It's real, and it is 100% bipartisan," US Representative Mario Daz Balart said. Balart, a Florida Republican, was joined by California Democrat Ami Bera. In the 21st century, there's no place for aggressive action

US-China tech rivalry keeps South Korean chipmakers in costly limbo

While China is still by far South Korea's biggest trading partner, monthly exports to the US surpassed those to China for the first time in more than two decades

China buys near-record $40 bn of chip making gear to beat US curbs

Even before those curbs came into effect, Dutch company ASML Holding NV had canceled shipments of some of its top-of-the-line machines to China at the request of the US government

How Taiwan's election fits into the island's past, and its future

Voters chose as their next president Lai Ching-te, the current vice president, who has vowed to continue his party's policy of protecting the island's sovereignty

China's exports rise, but deflation persists as economy enters 2024

Analysts also anticipate that interest rates will drop at least 1.5 percentage points in the United States and Europe this year, which should improve demand for imported goods

China seen using threats, money and pressure to influence Taiwan elections

Using military threats, diplomatic pressure, fake news and financial inducements for politicians, China is being accused of deploying a broad strategy to influence voters in Taiwan's elections to pick candidates who favor unification. China's ultimate goal is to take control of the self-governing island democracy, whose high-tech economy supplies key components for computers, cellphones and other electronic devices and ships much of the world's goods out from the Taiwan Strait. Beijing has long insisted Taiwan is part of China and must be regained, by military force if necessary, regardless of the views of the island's people. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says China's global objective is that they want to use Taiwan as a test ground. If they are able to successfully shape the results of the Taiwan elections, they will try to apply their tactics on other countries. China has been sending warships and fighter jets near Taiwan on a near-daily basis in recent years, hoping to ..

How does a Taiwan election work? Everything you need to know about it

Taiwan's three main parties contesting the election are the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), only set up in 2019

Taiwan says Chinese balloons are harassment and a threat to air safety

Taiwan's Defence Ministry accused China on Saturday of harassment and trying to affect public morale by repeatedly sending balloons over the self-governing island. A ministry analysis found that the paths of the balloons posed a serious threat to international passenger flights, according to a report by Taiwan's official Military News Agency. The ministry called for an immediate end to the activity to ensure flight safety. The ministry urged the people (of Taiwan) to clearly understand the Chinese Communist Party's cognitive combat methods and face it rationally and calmly so as to avoid being affected by it, the report said. The purpose of the balloons is unclear, and a Chinese state media outlet has accused Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwanese and American media of hyping what it says are harmless weather balloons. The balloon incidents come ahead of a January 13 presidential election in Taiwan in which the island's relations with China are a major ...

US companies picky about investing in China, but keen on burgers, lattes

There's been no shortage of tough news for China's economy as some of the world's biggest brands consider or take action to shift manufacturing to friendlier shores at a time of unease about security controls, protectionism and wobbly relations between Beijing and Washington. Count Adidas, Apple and Samsung among those looking elsewhere. But as a tumultuous 2023 for the Chinese economy comes to a close, there has been at least one bright spot for Beijing when it comes to foreign investment: American fast-food chains have decided a market of 1.4 billion people is simply too delicious to pass up. KFC China's parent company opened its 10,000th restaurant in China last month and aims to have stores within reach of half of China's population by 2026. McDonald's is planning to open 3,500 new stores in China over the next four years. And Starbucks invested $220 million in a manufacturing and distribution facility in eastern China, its biggest project outside the U.S. This is surely not wh

China turns up heat on trade with rare earth tech export restrictions

The US is spearheading a drive to reduce China's stranglehold over flows of these minerals, from rare earths to lithium and cobalt.