Page 43 - Us China

Chinese TikTok sellers complain of strict rules on selling in US mkt

TikTok, used by about 170 mn Americans, has been seeking to strike the right balance between pursuing rapid growth and managing regulatory risks

New Zealand joins US, UK in claims of China-backed cyber espionage

Hackers linked to the Chinese government launched a state-sponsored operation that targeted New Zealand's Parliament in 2021, the country's security minister said on Tuesday. New Zealand's allegation comes a day after US and UK authorities announced a set of criminal charges and sanctions against seven hackers, all believed to be living in China, who targeted US officials, journalists, corporations, pro-democracy activists and the UK's election watchdog. "The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable," Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) Judith Collins said in a media statement. Collins said the agency had also established links between a state-sponsored actor linked to China and malicious cyber activity targeting parliamentary entities in New Zealand. "The GCSB's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) completed a robust technical assessment following a compromi

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

Apple CEO Cook meets Chinese commerce minister, unveils investment plans

He said China is promoting tech innovation, and that sectors like artificial intelligence and cloud computing offer massive opportunities to companies like Apple

Blinken to highlight support for Philippines as it clashes with China

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will underscore Washington's ironclad commitment to its alliance with the Philippines on Tuesday, as clashes between Chinese and Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea turn more hostile, the U.S. State Department said. Blinken, the latest high-level official to visit the U.S. treaty ally, met his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo Tuesday, before planned meetings with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top officials in Manila. Next month, President Joe Biden will host Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a White House summit amid growing concerns over increasingly aggressive Chinese actions in the South China Sea and North Korea's nuclear program. The Chinese coast guard blocked and used water cannons against Philippine vessels in a confrontation two weeks ago that slightly injured a Filipino admiral and four of his sailors near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. The March 5 faceoff in the high seas also

Chinese billionaire admits to election crimes, making bogus donations

A Chinese billionaire has pleaded guilty to federal election crimes, admitting that he made thousands of dollars in contributions to New York and Rhode Island political candidates in the names of others. Hui Qin, a Chinese cinema magnate, faces up to 27 years in prison on charges that include orchestrating a straw donor scheme, immigration fraud and using false identification documents. Beginning in December 2021, Qin began working "to find individuals to make more than USD 10,000 in straw donor contributions" to an unnamed candidate running for citywide election in New York City, prosecutors said. At least one individual donated USD 1,000 on Qin's behalf to the citywide candidate. The following day, Qin reached out to a co-conspirator, who told him they expected to be able to obtain up to USD 20,000 in straw donor contributions for the candidate. Prosecutors also say he engaged in similar straw donor schemes to funnel donations to a US representative in New York and a congressiona

Warehouse developers scramble for land in India as firms look beyond China

Prime targets are firms looking to expand manufacturing facilities beyond China as tension with the United States and other countries takes off some of its shine

Apple to pay $490 mn for misleading investors about iPhone sales in China

Apple has agreed to pay USD 490 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging CEO Tim Cook misled investors about a steep downturn in iPhone's sales in China that culminated in a jarring revision to the company's revenue forecast. The preliminary settlement filed on Friday in Oakland, California, federal court stems from a shareholder lawsuit focused on the way Apple relayed information about how iPhone models released in September 2018 were performing in China, one of the company's biggest markets. Cook signalled that the new iPhones were off to a good start during an investor conference call in early November 2018, according to the complaint. That reassurance dissolved into a huge letdown on January 2, 2019 when the Cook issued a warning that Apple's revenue for the just-completed quarter would fall USD 9 billion below management's forecast for the period. What's more, virtually all of the sales drop was traced to weak demand in China. It marked the first time Apple had cut i

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

Kim Jong Un drives new-type tank during drills, calls for efforts for war

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined his troops in training to operate newly developed battle tanks as he called for bigger efforts to prepare for war, state media reported on Thursday. The North's tank training was seen as a response to the annual 11-day South Korean-US military drills that are to end later Thursday. The North views its rivals' exercises a rehearsal for invasion. The North's training on Wednesday was designed to inspect tankmen's combat capabilities and involved the new-type main battle tank that Kim called the world's most powerful, the official Korean Central News Agency. During the training, heavy tanks moved around various simulated harsh combat circumstances and fired rounds at targets. Kim mounted one of the new-type tanks and drove it himself, adding to the high militant spirit of the tankmen of our army, KCNA said. North Korea's Defense Ministry earlier vowed to carry out responsible military activities in reaction to the ongoing South Korea-US military

US lawmakers cite India as they vote on bill to regulate TikTok ownership

US lawmakers on Wednesday cited the bold move by India to ban TikTok four years ago as they voted in support of legislation about the Chinese app. In a major bipartisan move, the House of Representatives passed by 352 to 65 votes the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act co-authored by Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, and Congressman Mike Gallaghe from the Republican party. The bill, which seeks to control the ownership of foreign apps like TikTok in the US, now heads to the Senate for it to be sent to the White House for the President to sign it into law. Several lawmakers referred to the decision taken by India in 2020 to ban the app. In 2020, India banned 59 Chinese-created apps, including TikTok, emphasising their priority to defend India's national security, said the office of Congressman Greg Murphy in a statement. Lack of transparency from TikTok executives and their unwillingness to protect user privacy and ...

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

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

China has stepped up grey-zone warfare to exhaust Taiwan: Defence report

Taiwan Defense Ministry this week said it would increase the number of missile drills and begin night-time exercises for pilots

Joe Biden orders investigation into security risks of Chinese-made cars

Biden noted that China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by use of unfair means

US rivalry with China expands to biotech, lawmakers see failure to compete

US lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America's failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to US national security and commercial interests. But as the two countries' rivalry expands into the biotech industry, some say that shutting out Chinese companies would only hurt the US. Biotechnology promises to revolutionise everyday life, with scientists and researchers using it to make rapid advances in medical treatment, genetic engineering in agriculture and novel biomaterials. Because of its potential, it has caught the attention of both the Chinese and US governments. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to bar foreign adversary biotech companies of concern from doing business with federally funded medical providers. The bills name four Chinese-owned companies. The Chinese Embassy said those behind the bills have an ideological bias and seek to suppress Chinese companies under false pretexts. It demanded that Chinese companies b

Russia, China accuse US, UK of attacking Yemen rebels' military sites

Russia and China on Wednesday accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemen's Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their proportionate and legal action against the Yemen rebels are being taken in self-defense. Woodward said the Houthi attacks are driving up the costs of global shipping, including the costs of food supplies and humanitarian aid in the region. But Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and China's U.N. envoy Zhang Jun argued that the U.N. Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen. The clashes came at a council meeting where U.N. special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen have been slowed by rising regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and "in particular the militar

China's consumer prices suffer steepest fall in more than 14 years

Citigroup economists said in a research note last week that they expect mild reflation in 2024, and forecast annual CPI inflation at 1.2 per cent year-on-year

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