Conversation

03.15.24

Time up for TikTok?

Aynne Kokas, Julian G. Ku & more
On March 13, in a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could result in TikTok’s being unable to do business in the U.S. What does the rapid passage of the bill in the House say about the state...

Viewpoint

08.20.20

How To Teach China This Fall

Dimitar D. Gueorguiev, Xiaobo Lü & more
The coming academic year presents unique challenges for university instructors teaching content related to China. The shift to online education, the souring of U.S.-China relations, and new national security legislation coming from Beijing have...

The Promise and Peril of Chinese Tech Investment in Africa

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
In this week's show, we bring you two perspectives on the promise and peril of increased Chinese technology investment in Africa.Harriet Kariuki is an emerging markets analyst in Kenya where she surveys the digital landscape and local start-up...

Big Investors Are Placing Bets on China’s Facial Recognition Start-Ups

Jamie Condliffe
New York Times
In the past week, Chinese facial recognition companies, according to a pair of reports, were close to raising as much as $1.6 billion.

Viewpoint

02.15.18

A Clash of Cyber Civilizations

Geoffrey Hoffman
There has been little need for the term “cyber sovereignty” among democratic states: the Internet, by its nature, operates under an aegis of freedom and cooperation. However, as the international system slips away from American unipolarity, a...

Conversation

12.19.17

Trump’s National Security Strategy and China

Zha Daojiong, Pamela Kyle Crossley & more
On December 18, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced the United States’ new national security strategy. He called China a “strategic competitor,” and, along with Russia, called it a “revisionist power.” Those two nations, Trump said, are...

Germany Says China Seeking to Ensnare Officials on LinkedIn

Tobias Buck
Financial Times
Chinese intelligence agencies are using social networks such as LinkedIn to establish contact with German politicians and officials, according to a study by Germany’s internal security service.

China Is Investigating Its Former Internet Censor-In-Chief for Corruption

Time
China’s former top internet regulator and censor is being investigated by the ruling Communist Party’s anti-corruption arm, the agency said Tuesday.

Taiwan Boosts Cyber Defences Against Threat from China

Edward White
Financial Times
Taiwan’s ruling party is bolstering its cyber defences after hacking attacks that have raised fears that groups linked to the Chinese government plan to influence elections.

Conversation

11.02.17

Trump Goes to Asia

Ely Ratner, David Dollar & more
Chinese officials like to talk about practicing “win-win” diplomacy. Their American counterparts sometime joke that this means China wins twice. From November 3 to November 14, Donald Trump will visit Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines,...

U.S. Confronts China over Suspected Cyberattack as Fugitive Guo Wengui Appears in Washington

Cezary Podkul, Kate O’Keeffe and Aruna...
Washington Post
A suspected Chinese cyberattack on the website of a prominent Washington think tank drew a complaint from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week in a meeting with top Chinese government officials.

Cyber Norms in U.S.-China Relations

Paul Haenle & Tim Maurer from Carnegie China
The United States and China agreed in 2015 that neither government would support or conduct cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property and committed to working with international partners to identify appropriate norms in cyberspace. Both countries...

Sinica Podcast

09.11.17

China’s Tightening Grip on Cyberspace

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
Adam Segal returns to Sinica to comment on China’s recent cybersecurity law—where it came from, how it changed as it was being drafted, and how it may shape the flow of information in China in the future. Other issues discussed include the...

In China You Now Have to Provide Your Real Identity If You Want to Comment Online

Nikhil Sonnad
Quartz
The Chinese government under president Xi Jinping is continuing to make life on the internet difficult for its potential detractors. Yesterday (Aug. 25), the country’s highest internet regulator released new rules that govern who...

Apple’s Decision to Remove VPN Apps from the App Store in China Explained by Tim Cook

Andrew Griffin
Independent
Tim Cook has responded to criticisms that Apple is quietly removing apps from the App Store for the Chinese government.

China and the U.S. Are Both Going for Trade’s Nuclear Option

Ana Swanson
Washington Post
As the Trump administration and their Chinese counterparts meet this week to hammer out agreements on trade, they are likely to use the same rationale—national security—to argue for very different goals.

Apple Opening Data Center in China to Comply with Cybersecurity Law

New York Times
Apple said Wednesday that it would open its first data center in China, joining a parade of technology companies responding to growing global demands to build facilities that store online data closer to customers.

Apple Opens Data Center in China to Comply With Cybersecurity Law

Paul Mozur
New York Times
Apple has set up its first data center in China, setting the tone for how foreign companies will handle a strict new law requiring them to store Chinese users’ information in the country.

China Has Agreed to Stop Cyberattacks on the Canadian Private Sector, Report Says

Time
China has signed an agreement to stop conducting state-sponsored cyberattacks against the Canadian private sector, the Globe and Mail reported on Sunday, citing an official communiqué.

China’s New Cybersecurity Law Leaves Foreign Firms Guessing

New York Times
As China moves to start enforcing a new cybersecurity law, foreign companies face a major problem: They know very little about it. The law — which was rubber-stamped by the country’s Parliament last year — is part of wide-ranging efforts by Beijing...

Microsoft Just Built a Special Version of Windows for China

Fortune
China’s government officials now have a custom version of Windows. Microsoft said Tuesday that its new Windows 10 China Government Edition is ready for Chinese government agencies to use.

China Is Reluctant to Blame North Korea, Its Ally, for Cyberattack

New York Times
China analysts say Beijing will hesitate before directly casting blame on North Korea even if evidence directly ties the North to the attack. Beijing is more likely to single out other actors, particularly the United States, experts say.

China Is Reluctant to Blame North Korea, Its Ally, for Cyberattack

PAUL MOZUR, JANE PERLEZ
New York Times
China analysts say Beijing will hesitate before directly casting blame on North Korea even if evidence directly ties the North to the attack. Beijing is more likely to single out other actors, particularly the United States, experts say.

Sinica Podcast

05.16.17

America’s Top Trade Negotiator in 2001 Looks at China Today

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
Charlene Barshefsky was a name you couldn’t avoid if you were in Beijing in the late 1990s. As the United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001, she led the American team that negotiated China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO...

Tens of Thousands of Chinese Firms, Institutes Affected in WannaCry Global Cyberattack

Zen Soo, Naomi Ng, Stephen Chen
South China Morning Post
Tens of thousands of Chinese companies and institutions—including several major firms in Hong Kong—have been crippled by a global cyberattack as people returned to work on Monday.

China Tried to Hack Group Linked to Controversial Missile Defense System, U.S. Cybersecurity Firm Says

Joshua Berlinger, Juliet Perry
A cybersecurity firm in the United States believes state-sponsored Chinese hackers were trying to infiltrate an organization with connections to a U.S.-built missile system in South Korea that Beijing firmly opposes.

What Happened at Mar-a-Lago?

Paul Haenle & Zha Daojiong from Carnegie China
One week before their first in-person meeting, President Trump told the world on Twitter that he expected the dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to be “a very difficult one” unless China was prepared to make major concessions on issues...

Is Trump Backing Down on China?

Eric Geller and Doug Palmer
Politico
The president last year compared China’s economic behavior to “rape.” Now he says he and Xi are “in the process of getting along very well.”

How China Is Preparing for Cyberwar

Adam Segal
Christian Science Monitor
The U.S. and China have made progress on curbing commercial cyberespionage. Now, the global powers need to set limits when it comes to digital warfare.

Forget the Great Firewall... China Is Beefing up Its Ability to Police All Cyberspace

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
China plans to bolster its defenses in cyberspace while keeping a close eye on the U.S. government’s review of its own strengths, a ­senior foreign ministry official said on Thursday.

U.S. Charges Three Chinese Traders With Hacking Law Firms

Sara Randazzo and Dave Michaels
Wall Street Journal
Indictment says the traders bought shares of at least five publicly traded companies before announcements that the firms would be acquired

Viewpoint

12.15.16

The Missing Topic in Trump’s Tough Talk on China

Melissa Chan
President-elect Donald Trump’s rhetoric suggests he will push China on many issues, not just one. Some observers have held on to the hope that his phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, his burst of anti-China tweets, and his most recent...

Microsoft, Intel, IBM Push Back on China Cybersecurity Rules

Eva Dou
Wall Street Journal
Comments offer rare glimpse at tussle between Beijing and U.S. tech companies

U.S. Should Get Tougher on China’s Deal-Making, Panel Says

Edward Wong
New York Times
Congressional commission: Congress should exercise greater scrutiny over trade and investment practices between the United States and China

China’s Xi Urges Cooperation Among Nations in Governance of Global Internet

Catherine Cadell
Reuters
At an internet conference in Wuzhen, Xi called for greater cooperation among nations in governing the internet, while respecting "cyber sovereignty"

Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

Matt Apuzzo and Michael Schmidt
New York Times
Security contractors discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in texts

China Adopts Cybersecurity Law Despite Foreign Opposition

Bloomberg
The law requires internet operators to cooperate with investigations involving crime and national security, mandatory testing and certification of equipment

Chinese Hackers Targeted U.S. Aircraft Carrier

Jeevan Vasagar and Geoff Dyer
Financial Times
Cyber security group says attack launched against visitors to vessel in South China Sea

Russia May be Hacking Us More, but China is Hacking Us Much Less

Ken Dilanian
NBC News
Chinese hacking has plummeted in the year since China signed an agreement with the Obama administration to curb economic espionage

Why the US Presidential Debate Couldn’t Ignore China

Viola Zhou and Kristin Huang
South China Morning Post
Clinton, Trump clash over cybersecurity, terrorism, trade, and nuclear threats

China Moves to Ease Foreign Concerns on Cybersecurity Controls

Eva Dou and Rachel King
Wall Street Journal
China will allow Microsoft, Cisco, other foreign tech companies to join the influential Technical Committee 260.

FBI Files Say China Firm Pushed U.S. Experts for Nuclear Secrets

David Voreacos and David McLaughlin
Bloomberg
Summaries of the consultants’ interviews with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were filed this month.

China Cracks Down on News Reports Spread via Social Media

Edward Wong
New York Times
The Cyberspace Administration of China works hard to filter the news....

Sinica Podcast

06.27.16

Patrolling China’s Cyberspace

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
Adam Segal is the Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest book, The Hacked World Order, provides an in-depth exploration of the...

China Is Another Step Closer to Controversial Cybersecurity Law

Fortune
The draft requires network operators to comply with social morals and accept the supervision of the government and public.

Chinese Economic Cyber-Espionage Plummets in U.S.

Joesph Menn, Jim Finkle
Reuters
U.S. network security companies notice a 90 percent decrease in Chinese hackers, as promised by the Chinese government....

China Quietly Targets U.S. Tech Companies in Security Reviews

Paul Mozur and Jane Perlez
New York Times
China is scrutinizing whether those companies pose potential security threats to the country.

The Long Arm of Chinese Law Reaches All the Way to Kenya

Eric Olander & Cobus van Staden
The Kenyan government’s consent to a Chinese request for the deportation of dozens of alleged cyber and telecom fraud has now bloomed into a full-scale diplomatic crisis. Among those forcibly sent to China included dozens of Taiwan nationals, many...

China Passes Controversial Anti-terrorism Law to Access Encrypted User Accounts

Dante D'Orazio
Verge
The new rules state that telecom operators and internet service providers must "provide technical support and assistance, including decryption" to Chinese authorities to help prevent and investigate terrorist activities.

A Dangerous Game: Responding to Chinese Cyber Activities

Ryan Pickrell
Diplomat
Those calling for tougher U.S. measures should think twice.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Will Arrive At The UN Armed With A List Of Things He Wants Changed

Richard Macauley
Quartz
Xi Jinping will make his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Six Questions for Chinese President Xi Jinping

Steven Mufson
Washington Post
Chinese President Xi Jinping does not usually conduct open news conferences, but when in America, do as the Americans do.

Conversation

09.22.15

Xi Jinping’s Message to America

Taisu Zhang, Graham Webster & more
China’s President Xi Jinping addressed an audience of more than 700 American businesspeople in Seattle on Tuesday evening on the first stop on his first state visit to the United States. Regular ChinaFile Contributors who watched the speech offer...

Conversation

09.22.15

Can the U.S. & China Make Peace in Cyberspace?

Charlie Smith, Rogier Creemers & more
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the United States today on his first state visit. Xi will address a group of American business leadersin Seattle. High on their list of concerns about trade with China is cyber hacking, cyber espionage and...

U.S. to China: Quit Cyber Spying

Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton
Reuters
Xi said China's government does not engage in the theft of commercial secrets and does not support Chinese companies that do so.

U.S. and China Seek Arms Deal for Cyberspace

David E. Sanger
New York Times
The United States and China are secretly negotiating what could become the first arms control accord for cyberspace, embracing a commitment by each country that it will not be the first to use cyberweapons to cripple the other’s...

Xi Goes to Washington: 4 Problems for the U.S. and China

Charles Riley
CNN
Already, there's drama, drama, drama.

U.S. Won’t Impose Sanctions on Chinese Companies Before Xi Visit

Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post
Senior U.S. and Chinese officials reached “substantial agreement” on several cybersecurity issues.

U.S. Developing Sanctions Against China over Cyberthefts

Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post
Obama is developing unprecedented economic sanctions against Chinese who have benefited from government cybertheft of U.S. trade secrets.