Blog

Georgia’s State Spending is at the center of the US-China Tech Conflict

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last week, The Washington Post reported that President Biden’s second big bill may be a China package to to counter China’s rising global power and proposes funding aimed at bolstering U.S. manufacturing and supply chains, among other measures. As China Tech Threat digs deeper into the ways in which China’s malign actions harm U.S. consumers, we support this effort.  We are still seeing one of the largest threats come from state governments continuing to purchase U.S. military-restricted equipment. This includes buying products from Lenovo, a Chinese-owned company that has been restricted by multiple military and intelligence agencies in the U.S. and around the globe because of security deficiencies. Through a FOIA request, we found that Georgia has spent over $1… Read More

BIS, Allies Must Coordinate on Export Controls to Keep Advanced Tech from Renegade Actors

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Stephen Ezell is the Vice President for Global Innovation Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and he is a leading observer of international semiconductor policy. His new report, Moore’s Law Under Attack: The Impact of China’s Policies on Global Semiconductor Innovation, describes how China’s state-directed strategy to vault into a leadership position in the semiconductor industry distorts the global market with massive subsidization, IP theft, state-financed foreign firm acquisitions, and other mercantilist practices. China’s inferior innovators thus have a leg up—and the global semiconductor innovation curve is bending downward. Ezell estimates there would be 5,100 more U.S. patents in the industry annually if not for China’s innovation mercantilist policies. To address the challenge Chinese innovation mercantilism poses… Read More

Exclusive Interview: Potential Commerce Under Secretary Nominee Analyzes Vital Bureau

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China has a clear mission to achieve global military supremacy and is prepared to build, buy, siphon, or steal the latest and greatest tech to get there. When we’re dealing with China, it’s not business as usual, and we need to be vigilant to make sure sensitive technologies in particular are directed to their intended uses and don’t fall into rogue military hands. As the U.S. looks at policy levers to protect our leadership and interests, a little known bureau within the Department of Commerce called the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is on the front lines for strategic trade control. In recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have speculated about who will lead the 450-person… Read More

William Galston in the WSJ: U.S. Should Step Up the Tech Fight against China

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The United States should step up domestic investment in its semiconductor industry and strengthen export controls to stop the People’s Republic of China from acquiring semiconductor manufacturing equipment, columnist William Galston writes in the Wall Street Journal this week. Galston applauds the Trump Administration’s joint efforts with the Netherlands to “block the sale of Dutch-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China’s largest chip maker.” It is “good news,” he adds, that the Biden administration intends to “continue such efforts and also work with allies to maintain the West’s technological edge in areas that will be crucial to defense as well as the economy.” The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Biden administration is working with allies to stay ahead… Read More

Kansas State Spending is Harming Kansans Far and Wide

Posted on by China Tech Threat
This week China Tech Threat is set to launch our new report: High Tech Heist: Chinese Government IT Vendors And The Threat To U.S. Banks. Through this report we show that, despite major investment by US banks in cybersecurity and significant federal policy efforts, attacks on US banks are increasing frequency, severity, and sophistication. In order to address these issues we must look within the US to see where our weaknesses lie. As we have previously notated, one of the largest threats comes from state governments continuing to purchase U.S. military-restricted equipment. This includes buying products from Lenovo, a Chinese-owned company that has been restricted by multiple military and intelligence agencies in the U.S. and around the globe because of… Read More

Preview: China Tech Threat Report Urges Banks to Avoid Chinese Government IT to Defend Against State-Sponsored Cyber-Attacks

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Cyber-attacks against financial organizations are growing in frequency and severity and U.S. banks are the most targeted, an upcoming White Paper by Dr. Roslyn Layton finds. A complex thicket of government agencies and regulation has been largely ineffective in curbing cyber threats. In 2015, U.S. financial services were targeted about four times more than other industries. By 2019, financial firms experienced about 300 times more cyber-attacks than other companies. “U.S. banks and financial service providers cannot rely solely on the government to combat state-sponsored cyber-security threats,” the report notes. “Policy analyses must face the stark reality that cyber-attacks are growing faster and larger than the execution of government actions to address them.” Instead, financial services companies should proactively work to… Read More

President Biden Signs Executive Order Directing Review of U.S. Supply Chains

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On Wednesday, President Biden signed an executive order directing both an immediate and year-long review of U.S. supply chains for critical products, including semiconductors.  “We need to stop playing catch up after the supply chain crisis hits,” President Biden said. “We need to prevent the supply chain crisis from hitting in the first place.” The executive order – which requires a 100-day review of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, advanced batteries and rare earth minerals supply chains and a one-year review of six sectors of the economy – follows bipartisan calls from Congress cautioning about the dangers of a semiconductor shortage. “Right now, semiconductor manufacturing is a dangerous weak spot in our economy and in our national security,” Senator Chuck Schumer said Tuesday… Read More

Report: The Detrimental Impact of China’s Mercantilist Policies on the Semiconductor Industry

Posted on by China Tech Threat
In his new report, Stephen Ezell, Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), explores how China’s aggressive strategy to distort and harm the global semiconductor market is continues to hurt the U.S and the market at large.    In highlighting the growth of the industry, he explains “a thriving global semiconductor industry depends upon three critical conditions: fair access to global markets, market-based competition to reduce artificial overcapacity and significant price declines, and minimal intellectual property theft.” To contextualize this, he uses the example of Applied Materials, ASML, KLA Tencor, and Lam Research, a collection of US and European companies that “manufacture the machines and tooling equipment that run semiconductor fabs.” Ezell explains that… Read More

5G Security Challenges Webinar: “Lenovo is more Chinese than Huawei”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last week, the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security forum (PI-SF) held a webinar titled “5G Security Challenges.” The second in the 5G security series, Congressman Robert Pittenger hosted a lively conversation featuring U.S. political leaders and European lawmakers to discuss the growing threat from China’s 5G ambitions. One major takeaway from the event was that we must be aware of the dangers of Chinese technolgy, not just from Huawei, but from companies such as Lenovo, GE and Motorola. As one panelist put it, “The Chinese Communist Party is hiding behind its vendors.” The webinar featured former Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI), Hon. Jason Boswell, Head of Security for the Network and Product Solutions Department at Ericsson, and Hon. Sohan Dasguspta, Deputy Counsel for the… Read More

Importance of Crucial BIS Post in International Spotlight

Posted on by China Tech Threat
During the past week top international newspapers have noted the vital importance of President Biden’s choice to head the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). The 450-person agency “oversees the nation’s export-control rules, giving it a big role in deciding which technologies are exported to China…” The Wall Street Journal said the pick will “offer clues to how the White House will address security risks posed by Chinese tech companies.” At the same time, the Financial Times wrote that the “once low-profile post… has emerged as a as a key battleground for China hawks in Washington who want to push Joe Biden to take a hard line on technology exports to Beijing.” Two candidates have emerged as possible… Read More