2022 - Page 2 of 12 - China Tech Threat

“He and His Company Should Clearly Commit Not to Proceed” – the New York Times Spotlights Apple’s Dangerous Dance with YMTC

Posted on November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 by China Tech Threat

Ever since reporting on an Apple-YMTC deal first emerged earlier this year, national security-focused experts and legislators alike have sounded the alarm on the grave damage such a partnership would hold (see CTT’s extensive report on how the Chinese government was poised to infiltrate iPhones with YMTC chips). Now the New York Times is paying attention, too. On November 8th, the Times’ Apple beat reporter, Tripp Mickle, published an article detailing cracks in Apple’s foundation in China. Besides China’s COVID-related lockdowns that have snagged supply chains hurting its business, Apple is now under fire from lawmakers who see the YMTC threat for what it is. That’s in large part due to the work of James Mulvenon. As the Times reports:… Read More

BIS Under Pressure to Follow Through on New Export Control Rules

Posted on November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 by China Tech Threat

One month ago, the Department of Commerce unleashed a round of China-focused export controls which are already creating massive disruption for China’s semiconductor firms. As China Tech Threat noted in a subsequent memo, the new controls are a much-welcome step, but the Commerce Department – and specifically, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) – needs to keep its foot on the gas and apply various enforcement provisions on their proper timelines. We aren’t the only ones thinking this way. On November 1, Congressman Michael McCaul, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo requesting data surrounding BIS licensing decisions, noting that “Export control rules are only as strong as their… Read More

The FCC Makes a Statement: Support Taiwan, Fortify U.S. National Security, and Ban Invasive Chinese Tech

Posted on November 4, 2022November 10, 2022 by China Tech Threat

This week, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr visited Taiwan to participate in meetings with Taiwanese government officials. This is the first time that a FCC Commissioner has visited Taiwan and the fourth U.S. delegation over the last several months. This U.S. delegation trip to Taiwan reinforces the importance of U.S.-Taiwanese relations as economic, strategic, and tech partners against China. According to Axios, Commissioner Carr “hopes his visit sends a strong message that ‘a free and democratic Taiwan — one that is independent from the [Chinese Communist Party]’s brutal authoritarianism — is vital to America’s own prosperity.’ He added that Taiwan’s chip industry is also important to American interests and economic growth.” This trip is the latest addition to a list… Read More

New CTT Memo on Export Controls: “Five Areas to Watch During This Critical 60 Day Window”

Posted on October 27, 2022October 27, 2022 by China Tech Threat

On October 27, China Tech Threat released a new memo calling attention to five priority areas worthy of attention in the wake of the Department of Commerce’s new China-focused export controls issued on October 7. The new set of rules have been described as “wreaking havoc on China’s chip industry” and “strangling with intent to kill.” But it’s hard to gauge their full impact after only three weeks. Alan Estevez, the Under Secretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security, has said “we are not done” on focusing on the Chinese semiconductor sector. We’re now 20 days into an important 60 day window that will mark a critical time for analysts, reporters, and industry observers to assess how serious the… Read More

Georgetown’s CSET Scrutinizes State Spending on Banned Foreign Tech Threats

Posted on October 26, 2022October 27, 2022 by China Tech Threat

CSET Joins Heritage and China Tech Threat in Calling for State Procurement Restrictions In July 2019, the Department of Defense Inspector General published a report exposing $30+ million in military spending on commercial over-the-shelf products such as Lexmark printers and Lenovo computers. These companies are dangerous, among other reasons, because they give the Chinese government a potential access point to sensitive data. Early the next year, China Tech Threat conducted a thorough review of state contracts and spending on both companies, confirming that about 40 states purchased products from Lenovo and Lexmark. Today Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) published a new study that extends and expands on China Tech Threat’s earlier work. “Banned in D.C.: Examining… Read More

New U.S. Export Controls Complicate Xi’s Tech Ambitions

Posted on October 24, 2022February 24, 2023 by China Tech Threat

Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s two-hour speech to the 20th CCP Party Congress on October 16th didn’t contain too many surprises. If anything, it’s clear Xi remains committed to stiff competition with the West for control of the commanding heights of modern technologies. That control will be harder to obtain in light of the new export controls the Commerce Department issued on October 7th. Held every five years, the Party Congress gives CCP leaders a chance to set priorities for the Party. In one key passage, Xi stated, “To meet China’s strategic needs, we will concentrate resources on original and pioneering scientific and technological research to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.” Presumably, semiconductors would be… Read More

China’s March Towards the Arctic

Posted on October 19, 2022 by China Tech Threat

The Hudson Institute’s China Center and China Tech Threat recently collaborated on a conference, Dragon in the North: Assessing the Growing Chinese Threat to the Arctic Region, focused on China’s March toward the Arctic and how the region is emerging as a new flashpoint of geopolitical challenge. It featured keynote remarks by Hudson Distinguished Fellow and 70th Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and followed the recent release of the Biden Administration’s Arctic Strategy as well as the State Department’s August announcement of the creation of an Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic region. During a panel moderated by China’s Tech Threat’s Dr. Roslyn Layton, former NATO Ambassador and Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison along with Liselotte Odegard, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Hudson… Read More

Apple Halts Plan to Use YMTC Chips in Wake of New Export Controls; More Trouble Coming

Posted on October 17, 2022October 17, 2022 by China Tech Threat

Tech companies connected to China’s semiconductor industry have been re-evaluating operations in China ever since the U.S. Commerce Department imposed a new round of export controls targeting Chinese chipmakers. Now Nikkei reports that Apple – which had a dangerous deal in the works to buy flash memory chips from YMTC – is hitting pause on that plan due to the new regulations. The news comes not a moment too soon. Apple had already certified YMTC’s chips and planned to start using them as early as this year for the iPhone, at least in China to start. But as Tom’s Hardware pointed out last month, Apple could eventually use YMTC chips for other products too. Other markets, such as the U.S.,… Read More

A Huge Week for American Policies on Chinese Technology, But More Must Be Done

Posted on October 14, 2022 by China Tech Threat

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made waves last Friday when it announced new (and long-awaited) export controls to restrict the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) ability to both purchase and manufacture certain high-end chips used in military applications. It also put YMTC on the Unverified List and made clear that this action could be a prelude to the Entity List. Multiple commentators have highlighted the significance of these moves. Greg Allen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) described the moves as “an unprecedented degree of U.S. government intervention to not only preserve chokepoint control but also begin a new U.S. policy of actively strangling large segments of the Chinese technology industry—strangling with an intent to… Read More