Netherlands

New Study Confirms China’s Ability to Spy… Through the Fridge

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Chinese spy balloons have been dominating headlines over the past few days. As the New York Times reported, “Balloon Incident Reveals More Than Spying as Competition with China Intensifies.” While the U.S. recovers the balloon and takes a closer look at the findings, it will not only be interesting to know what may have been communicated to China, but also what technology was used to do it. For example, were there any chips from China’s bellwethers (SMIC, YMTC, and CXMT)? All that said, this is not the only news of China spying that should have us up in arms. Late last month, The Telegraph and others reported, “China Can Use People’s Fridges and Laptops to Spy on Them, UK Warned.”… Read More

China’s Use of American Chips for Nuclear Programs Shows Necessity of Export Control Enforcement

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Tight export control enforcement is as necessary as ever. That’s the takeaway from a blockbuster Wall Street Journal story on January 29, which brings China’s strategy of using American technologies to arm its military – and circumvent U.S. export controls in the process – into sharp focus. The Journal reports that “the state-run China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) has managed to obtain the semiconductors made by U.S. companies such as Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. since 2020 despite its placement on a U.S. export blacklist in 1997.” The Journal further reports that CAEP – the top research arm of China’s nuclear weapons program – acquired the chips through resellers, which may have used or marketed them as chips for… Read More

Japan and the Netherlands Sign on to Export Controls; Will Multilateral Momentum for Them Continue at the WTO? 

Posted on by China Tech Threat
For months the U.S. Commerce Department has exerted pressure on Japan and the Netherlands to restrict the sale of advanced chipmaking equipment to China. Now that the U.S. has issued its own tough export controls targeting the likes of “bellwether” chip companies YMTC, CXMT, and SMIC, Bloomberg reports that Japan and the Netherlands will join the U.S. in issuing restrictions of their own.  The importance of this move should not be underestimated. Bloomberg’s analysis describes the addition of Japan and the Netherlands as a “significant milestone,” adding that, “the three-country alliance would represent a near-total blockade of China’s ability to buy the equipment necessary to make leading-edge chips.” China knows these crushing blows spell doom for its domestic production of advanced chips, so… Read More