SECRETIVE PRC FIRMS LURE FIRED FEDERAL WORKERS
Four shadowy recruitment companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm are recruiting recently laid-off U.S. government workers by posting job ads on Craigslist, LinkedIn and other job sites. The companies, which use techniques common in PRC intelligence operations, are also targeting disgruntled current employees and AI researchers. Although the exact nature of their relationship is unclear, the firms have overlapping websites and are on the same server. Some terminated U.S. government workers with security clearances were not given standard exit briefings that explain what to do if they are approached by foreign intelligence agents. (Reuters, March 25, 2025)
CHINA FETES U.S. BUSINESS LEADERS IN BEIJING
Beijing has hosted the executives of major U.S. businesses, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, for the two-day China Development Forum. China conveyed a conciliatory and welcoming message toward foreign firms, claiming it aims to boost consumption and that, although the U.S. has become increasingly protectionist, China remains open for business. "The increased optimism this year compared to last year at the Forum has been just so heartwarming," said Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund Citadel. The CEOs of FedEx, Boeing, Cargill, Pfizer, Qualcomm, were among a group of U.S. business leaders who met with Premier Li Qiang. Li, who urged cooperation and criticized the trade war, also met Republican Senator Steve Daines, who described his meeting as "the first step" toward a Trump-Xi summit. (CNBC, March 25, 2025)
CHINA RELEASES STAFF OF U.S. DUE DILIGENCE FIRM
A day after the China Development Forum, authorities released all the detained employees of an American corporate due diligence firm, the Mintz Group. The release of the firms' Chinese employees, who were detained approximately two years ago, comes as China is trying to lure back foreign investors to boost its sagging economy. "We are grateful to the Chinese authorities that our former colleagues can now be home with their families," the Mintz Group said in a statement. (NPR, March 25, 2025)
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Beijing has stepped up scrutiny of foreign research firms and beefed up regulations on corporate and trade data flows. In 2023, the authorities raided several firms' offices – including that of Mintz, which was fined for conducting unauthorized statistical investigations, and has since closed its Beijing and Hong Kong offices.]
CHINA UNVEILS ITS NEW DEEP-SEA CABLE CUTTER
China has unveiled a compact deep-sea cable-cutting device capable of severing the world's most fortified underwater communication or power lines. The tool, which can cut lines at depths of up to 4000m – twice the maximum operational range of existing subsea communication infrastructure – has been designed specifically for integration with China's advanced crewed and uncrewed submersibles. Developed by the China Ship Scientific Research Centre and the State Key Laboratory of Deep-sea Manned Vehicles, the device targets armored cables – layered with steel, rubber and polymer sheaths – that underpin 95 percent of global data transmission. Severing undersea cables near strategic chokepoints like Guam could cut off global communications during a geopolitical crisis. (South China Morning Post, March 22, 2025)
U.S. BLACKLISTS 50 PRC FIRMS TO CURB AI, CHIP CAPABILITIES
To limit China's AI and advanced computing capabilities, the U.S. Department of Commerce has added more than fifty Chinese tech companies to its export blacklist. This "entity list" targets companies that are seen as acting contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. U.S. companies are prohibited from supplying these firms without government permits. Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler stated that the Trump administration is "sending a clear, resounding message" to prevent U.S. technologies from being "misused for high-performance computing, hypersonic missiles, military aircraft training, and UAVs that threaten our national security." He emphasized that the entity list is a critical tool for identifying and cutting off foreign adversaries seeking to exploit American technology for harmful purposes. (CNBC, March 26, 2025)
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