US weighs sanctioning Huawei’s secretive Chinese chip network

The Biden administration is considering blacklisting a number of Chinese semiconductor firms linked to Huawei Technologies Co. after the telecom giant notched a significant technological breakthrough last year, people familiar with the matter said. Such a move would mark another escalation in a US campaign to ringfence and curtail Beijing’s AI and semiconductor ambitions. It … Read more

‘Two sessions’ 2024: US trade sanctions, software gap taking toll on China’s cybersecurity ambitions

Mounting US trade sanctions and domestic software that is lagging behind American-made technology pose the biggest threats to China’s cybersecurity, according to the chairman of one of the country’s leading cybersecurity companies. In an interview with Shanghai news outlet The Paper on Sunday, Qi Xiangdong, the chairman of Beijing-based cybersecurity firm Qi An Xin (QAX), … Read more

‘Two sessions’ 2024: China’s top advisory body told AI gap with US is widening

At a major state-owned chip company in the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen, there is growing anxiety about a “widening gap” in artificial intelligence (AI). During a sideline meeting on Tuesday in Beijing at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – the country’s top political advisory body – Zeng Yi, a delegate who heads … Read more

US hits Iran with new sanctions targeting commanders, shipping

The United States targeted Iranian and Houthi commanders and a vessel that shipped more than $100 million in Iranian commodities to businesses in China in sanctions announced on Tuesday. Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh, deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and Ibrahim al-Nashiri, a member of Yemen’s Houthi militia, were designated under the … Read more

U.S. issues hundreds of new Russia sanctions over Alexey Navalny’s death and war in Ukraine

Washington — The Biden administration announced more than 600 sanctions and penalties on Russia and its military industry Friday — the largest round of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago — as it tries to exert more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion and the sudden death a week ago … Read more

White House plans to sanction 500 targets over Navalny death

By Sam Fossum, Priscilla Alvarez and Kevin Liptak | CNN The Biden administration will impose a fresh slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday in response to the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and on the eve of Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine, according to a Treasury official. The sanctions mark … Read more

North Korea fires several cruise missiles off east coast in latest barrage

North Korea fired several cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, Pyongyang’s fifth such launch so far this year. “Our military detected several unknown cruise missiles over the waters northeast of Wonsan around 09:00 today and South Korea-US intelligence authorities are conducting a detailed analysis,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said … Read more

Chinese biotech firm Wuxi AppTec should be sanctioned as a security threat, US lawmakers tell White House officials

The US should review Chinese biotech firm Wuxi AppTec and its affiliate Wuxi Biologics for sanctions, a bipartisan group of lawmakers told top Biden administration officials on Monday. In a letter dated February 12 and seen by Reuters, the lawmakers told Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that … Read more

China’s Xinjiang invites overseas media to annual political meetings for first time as it aims to improve image

It is the first time the region has invited delegations from outside mainland China to attend its key political event of the year, according to the Xinjiang government, which is aiming to improve its international image amid allegations of human rights abuses and forced labour. Xinjiang is home to 25.85 million people, of which 14.93 … Read more

Chinese yuan gives US dollar a run for its money as African trade embraces other currencies

But it was in the southern nation of Zambia where BOC established its first African subsidiary, allowing customers to make deposits in and even withdraw Chinese yuan. Branches in both Lusaka and Kitwe, a mining town in the country’s northern Copperbelt region, serve the growing number of Chinese mining firms and immigrants. Recently, the lender … Read more