DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Why Xi Jinping Is Meeting With Taiwan’s Ex-President
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Chris Buckley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But on Wednesday, as the two men met again in Beijing, the prospects for an amicable settlement over Taiwan’s future seemed more distant than ever. Mr. Ma, who pursued closer engagement with China during his eight years in office, is no longer president of Taiwan. Fewer and fewer Taiwanese people now share his belief that Taiwan must see its future as a part of a greater China. Since Mr. Ma left office in 2016, Mr. Xi has frozen high-level contacts with Taiwan, sought to isolate it on the global stage and tried to intimidate it with a tightening military presence around the island. Mr. Xi is profoundly suspicious of Taiwan’s current leadership, which has sought to assert the sovereignty of the island democracy.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Ma Ying, —, Ma, Xi Organizations: Mr Locations: Taiwan, Singapore, Beijing, China

☆ China is sending its highest-level delegation to North Korea since 2019 to kick off a ‘friendship year’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The three-day visit, at North Korea’s invitation, shows the “great importance” China attaches to those relations, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. The delegation will also arrive amid heightened global concern about North Korea, which has in recent months ramped up its bellicose rhetoric and continued its weapons testing. The trip could also be an important opportunity for the upper echelons of China’s political establishment to better understand the circumstances in North Korea today. Balance of powerChina has long walked a thin line in its relations with North Korea. It is a critical economic lifeline for a North Korea crippled by international sanctions over its illegal weapons testing.

Persons: Zhao Leji, ”, KCNA, Zhao, Xi Jinping, China’s, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Li Qiang, Liu Dongshu, …, ” Liu, Kim, Li Mingjiang, Vladimir Putin, Yun Sun Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — China’s, Beijing, Foreign Ministry, Japanese, CNN, Communist, North Korea –, Hong Kong’s City University, North, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, “, United Nations Security, Stimson Locations: China, Hong Kong, North Korea, Pyongyang, Beijing, Moscow, United States, North, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Asia, Washington, Philippines, Russia, North Korean, Covid, Pacific, American

☆ How India is challenging China as Asia's tech powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +30 min

New Delhi has sought to woo foreign tech companies and has been increasingly successful, with giants like Apple increasing their presence in the country. Tom Chitty: For years China has been Asia's tech powerhouse where the world's electronics and some of the biggest companies on the planet are located. And I think India is in the very early stages, to put it quite bluntly, of trying to do that. Tom Chitty: India have got an election this year as well, which is going to be interesting to see what happens there. You know, India has aligned itself slightly more to the countries that are currently a bit more anti-China, shall we say?

Persons: Tom Chitty, Arjun Kharpal, It's, Let's, I'm, Arjun, You'll, We're, we've, what's, gunning, Narendra Modi, it's, Tom, Modi, Trump, Apple, COVID, there's, Taiwan's, that's, Karen Tso, China's, Tim Cook, Raghuram Rajan, We've, feasibly, India's, let's, he's, you've, we'll, I've, We'll Organizations: Apple, CNBC, China, India's, Foxconn, Micron, Tata Electronics, Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Reserve Bank of India, CCP, Samsung, Bain, India, London Locations: China, Tencent, Asia, India, Delhi, Washington, Beijing, American, COVID, U.S, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Bangalore, Goa, Kolkata, Mumbai, Europe, Silicon, New York, Germany

☆ China needs a new economic plan that focuses less on exporting and more on domestic growth, 'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China will stagnate if it relies on manufacturing and exports to grow, Nouriel Roubini wrote in Project Syndicate. That growth model is outdated and worked in a time when foreign markets were more open to Chinese products. AdvertisementChina can't grow out of its economic problems if it stays focused on manufacturing and exports, says famed "Dr. Doom" economist Nouriel Roubini. "The old Chinese growth model is broken," the perma-bear economist wrote for Project Syndicate, later adding: "China therefore needs a new growth model concentrated on domestic services — rather than goods — and private consumption." Related storiesWhen China's economy was smaller, this form of growth made sense, as its exports were still manageable for foreign markets, Roubini said.

Persons: Nouriel Roubini, Doom, —, Roubini, Xi Jinping, he's, Paul Krugman Organizations: Project Syndicate, Service Locations: China, Beijing

☆ Op-ed: The effusive China tour is a failing playbook for Apple, Tim Cook, and every CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Dewardric L. Mcneal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

This ritual, epitomized by high-profile engagements — such as Apple CEO Tim Cook's effusive overtures and statements of commitments to China — signals that American corporate titans think the strategy can still work. Tim Cook's narrative of China as "critical" to Apple , coupled with his admiration for the country's advanced manufacturing capabilities, embodies the ethos of this engagement playbook. Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook attends the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 24, 2024. It's not that the Apple CEO is doing anything wrong. Chinese Apple superfans jostled to enter the smartphone maker's newest store as it opened on March 21 night.

Persons: Tim Cook's, Tim Cook, Pedro Pardo, Jim McNerney, Xi Jinping's, Mark Zuckerberg, Deirdre O'Brien, Strstr, Xi, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang Organizations: Apple, American, titans, U.S, Apple's, China Development Forum, AFP, Getty, Boeing, Airbus, Volkswagen, Qualcomm, Google, Facebook, Huawei, Afp Locations: China, Beijing, Weibo, Shanghai

☆ Germany’s Solar Panel Industry, Once a Leader, Is Getting Squeezed
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Before China came to dominate the solar panel industry, Germany led the way. It was the world’s largest producer of solar panels, with several start-ups clustered in the former East Germany, until about a decade ago when China ramped up production and undercut just about everyone on price. Now as Germany and the rest of Europe try to reach ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the demand for solar panels has only increased. Some of the last remaining manufacturers in Germany’s solar industry are not ready to give up. They argue that Europe’s high standards for the origin of materials and shorter supply chains make production in Germany more environmentally friendly and reliable.

Locations: China, Germany, East Germany, Europe, Berlin

☆ Biden administration to accuse Chinese hackers of targeting US companies in espionage campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration is preparing to publicly accuse several Chinese hackers of conducting sweeping hacks against US companies on behalf of China’s civilian intelligence service, three people familiar with the matter told CNN. An announcement identifying the hackers with names and photos is expected as soon as Monday, the sources said. The hackers have been using a Chinese technology company as a front to cover their hacking activity, one of the sources said. The British government is also preparing to accuse the hacking group of targeting UK organizations, the sources said. The cybersecurity industry knows the hacking group as APT31 or Judgement Panda, and researchers have found the hackers targeting everything from US law firms to European industrial organizations to international apparel companies.

Persons: Biden, Christopher Wray, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Wray Organizations: CNN, of State Security, Embassy, The, Microsoft Locations: Washington ,, China, Beijing, Wuhan, Tibet, Hong Kong

☆ Boeing sales unfreeze but they’re still well below normal
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But the company also had three canceled orders in January, giving it zero net orders for that month, the worst month for sales in years. Rebound from worst month since pandemicJanuary had been the worst month for sales for Boeing since airlines were struggling with massive losses during the pandemic. The last time Boeing had between one and three gross orders was in June, 2020, when it had only one jet order. The company sold 10 of the troubled 737 Max jets in February, all to unidentified customers. Southwest had planned to also take delivery of a total of 79 737 Max jets, but it no longer expects to get any of the 737 Max 7 jets it had hoped to get this year.

Persons: That’s, Max Organizations: New, New York CNN, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Air, Southwest, Royal Brunei Airlines, United Airlines, Ryanair, Sun Express, –, China Southern, FAA, Max, Federal Aviation Administration Locations: New York, Alaska, Singapore, United, Southwest, Air India, flydubai, Korean, – Air China, China Southern, Xiamen, Shandong, Donghai, China

☆ Australian farmers rip out millions of vines amid wine glut
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

About two-thirds of Australia’s wine grapes are grown in irrigated inland areas such as Griffith, its landscape shaped by vine-growing techniques brought by Italian migrants arriving around the 1950s. That would destroy more than 20 million vines across 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres), Reuters calculations based on Wine Australia data show, or about 8% of Australia’s total area under vine. “If half the vines in Australia were ripped out, it still might not solve the oversupply,” said a wine maker in Western Australia. When China blocked imports during a political dispute in 2020, Australia lost its biggest wine export market by value. And unlike Europe, it offers farmers no financial aid to help them destroy vines and excess wine.

Persons: “, ”, James Cremasco, Griffith, TWE.AX, Carlyle Group’s, Andrew Calabria, Cremasco, Jeremy Cass, Tim Mableson, Bill Calabria, Andrew’s, There’ll Organizations: CNN, Accolade, Wine, Riverina Winegrape Growers, Growers, KPMG Locations: Australia, China, Griffith, Calabria, Riverina, Wine Australia, Western Australia, Chile, France, United States, Bordeaux, Europe, Tasmania, Yarra, Victoria

☆ China is getting hyped over a suggestion that people get more than 5 days of paid time off
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Current laws give employees five days of annual paid time off, which increases to 10 days after they have worked 10 years, and 15 days if they have worked for 20 years or more. Fok's proposal would let young workers scale their annual leave from five to 10 days until they hit the 10-year mark. His suggestion sparked hopes on Weibo, China's version of X, that the country might soon align with international paid leave standards. The International Labor Organization recommends three weeks of paid annual leave. AdvertisementShanghai-based outlet The Paper ran an informal poll on Tuesday, asking if its readers felt they could take vacation days.

Persons: —, Kenneth Fok, Fok, we've, Jack Ma Organizations: Service, People's, China Youth, International Labor Organization, China, Daily, Business, Ministry of Human Resources, Social Security, Pew Research Center Locations: China, Hong Kong, Kong, Beijing, Weibo, Shanghai

☆ Amer Sports losses narrow as China sales fuel holiday-quarter revenue growth
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In fiscal 2023, the company lost $208.8 million, but its losses narrowed from $230.9 million in fiscal 2022. Between 2020 and 2022, Amer grew sales in the region from 8.3% of total revenue to 14.8%. Sales in Greater China jumped by 45% and all three of the company's segments saw "solid growth." In 2023, sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa represented about 33% of total revenue, down from 36% in 2022. North America made up about 39.5% of sales in 2023, down from 42.4% of sales in 2022.

Persons: Wilson, Amer, Salomon, Sellers, China's, Amer's, James Zheng, Zheng, it's Organizations: Amer Sports, New York Stock Exchange, Lousiville Slugger, CNBC, Wall, FountainVest Partners, Anamered Investments, Revenue Locations: Amer, New York City, U.S, China, Wilson, Louisville, Helsinki, Finnish, Greater China, Asia, Europe, East, Africa, North America, APAC

☆ ‘Two sessions’: China’s key political gathering gets underway as leaders try to repair broken economic confidence
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Xi is under the spotlight as economic pain has sparked growing frustration within China. Xi has also overseen a political shakeup in his own ranks, further marring the start of the new term. Those challenges may not pose a threat to Xi, who is China’s most powerful and authoritative leader in decades. But the two sessions provide an important platform for China’s notoriously opaque government to broadcast its strategy for economic, social and foreign policies and announce key indicators including China’s economic growth target, its budget deficit limit and military spending for the coming year. Analysts widely expect Li to reveal a relatively ambitious growth target of “around 5%,” showing that policymakers are still focused on economic growth, even as challenges pile up.

Persons: —, Xi Jinping, Xi, ”, Chen Gang, Li Qiang, It’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Wang Yi, Qin Gang, Li Shangfu, Li, Qin, Pedro Pardo, Neil Thomas, Premier Li, Asia Society’s Thomas, “ Organizations: Beijing CNN —, Communist, National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, Getty, of, National People’s, Guilford College, Observers, Washington, Asia Society, Center for Locations: China, Beijing, Chongqing, AFP, Taiwan, China's, Henan, Center for China, Asia

☆ China moon spacecraft named ‘Dream Vessel’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s space agency has revealed the names of the spacecraft that it hopes will take Chinese astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade. In a news release over the weekend, the China Manned Space Agency said development was “progressing well” on the spaceship Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel, the lander, Lanyue, or Embracing the Moon, and a super-heavy-lift carrier rocket named Long March 10. The name Mengzhou is linked to the “Chinese nation’s dream of landing on the moon,” it added. The United States is ramping up its lunar program, with NASA last month announcing its plan to land astronauts on the moon in 2026, a year behind its original schedule. Last week, the commercial Odysseus lunar lander developed by Intuitive Machines became the first US-made spacecraft to touch down on the moon in 50 years.

Persons: “ Lanyue ”, Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping’s, Japan’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Manned Space Agency, NASA, Machines Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, United States, Japan, India

☆ Spending in Shenzhen: Chinese used to escape to this former British colony. Now Hongkongers are heading in the opposite direction
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Chris Lau | Veronica Lin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Hong Kong CNN —With Hong Kong’s sky-high cost of living, residents like Andy Tsui have been looking for alternative ways to have more fun and spend less. Rather than spending his cash in his hometown of Hong Kong, he’s been crossing the border into mainland China to splurge instead. Such trips are noteworthy because, for much of Hong Kong’s modern history, the traffic has been largely — conspicuously, even — in the other direction. Hong Kong used to be the place where Chinese would escape to, not from. In 2023, just 26 million mainlanders — about half of the 2018 crowd — visited Hong Kong.

Persons: Andy Tsui, he’s, boba, ” Tsui, Justin Robertson, Noemi Cassanelli, CNN Hong Kong’s, Hong Kong —, misbehaving, —, ”, Steve Tsang, Hong, Shenzhen’s, Hongkongers, Gilles Sabrie, Hongkonger Eddy Lam, Lam, Cherrie Leung, Qilai Shen, Hugo Sin, “, Gary Ng, John Lee, Tsang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, Shoppers, Yuen, Britain, Newspapers, Hong, Hong Kong Immigration Department, China Institute, SOAS University, Huawei, Tencent, Bloomberg, Getty, Sam’s Club, Costco, Sam’s, Walmart, Hong Kong, Shenzhen hasn’t, Xinhua, RTHK, SOAS University of London Locations: Hong Kong, China, splurge, Peking, Shenzhen, East, Hong, People’s Republic of China, British, Beijing, London, Bay Area, San Francisco , New York, Tokyo, Kowloon, Coco, Shanghai, “, Inner Mongolia, Taiwan, Japan, Mainland China, Hong Kong’s, Britain, Canada, Australia, Bay, ”

Taipei, Taiwan CNN —American support for Taiwan will continue no matter who wins the upcoming US election, House Rep. Mike Gallagher told an audience in the democratic island on Thursday, as tensions simmer between Taipei and Beijing. “I’m confident regardless of how the presidential election goes, we will maintain our support not only for Taiwan but also a posture of internationalism and engagement,” Gallagher told reporters in the capital Taipei. Gallagher said American efforts to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion were also critical to deterring Beijing from using force against Taiwan. American lawmakers regularly visit Taiwan and have supported legislation to bolster US support for the island and its defensive capabilities. 07:53 - Source: CNNTroubled watersThe delegation’s visit comes during a period of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, sparked by the drowning of two Chinese fishermen near Taiwan’s Kinmen Island last week.

Persons: Mike Gallagher, “, ” Gallagher, Gallagher, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Tsai Ing, Lai Ching, Tsai, ” Tsai, China, ”, ” “, …, ” Zhu Fenglian, Chen Chien Organizations: Taiwan CNN, Communist Party, Taiwan, NATO, Democratic, Washington, CNN, Taipei, Republican, Wisconsin, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Taiwan Affairs Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Beijing, China, Ukraine, Europe, Raja, United States, Taiwanese, ”

☆ Major companies in China are setting up their own volunteer armies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese companies are doing something rarely seen since the 1970s: setting up their own volunteer armies. According to China’s Military Service Law, male militia members should be 18 to 35 years old. It was latest in a slew of militias established by major Chinese companies in the past year. After 1949, when the party took control of mainland China, the units were eventually embedded into governments, schools and companies. This can, in the long run, save the PLA resources by delegating some duties to militia forces to care for,” Heath said.

Persons: Xi, ”, Neil Thomas, Nuo Nuo, Huang Zhiqiang, Qilai Shen, Liu Jie, Mao Zedong, Mao, Timothy Heath, homebuyers, Heath, ” Heath, Willy Lam, Sam Yeh, ” Lam, China’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, People’s Armed Forces Departments, America’s National Guard, Communist, Asia Society, Center for, Communist Party, China Labour Bulletin, Foxconn, Yili, Armed Forces Department, China’s Military Service Law, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, government’s Communist Party, Inner Mongolia Autonomous, Bloomberg, Getty, Shanghai Municipal Investment Group, Construction Investment, Development, Defense Ministry, People’s Armed Police, Armed, Rand Corporation, Jamestown Foundation, Party, Taiwan Locations: China, Hong Kong, Center for China, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Henan, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, Yili, Shanghai, Mengniu, Nantong city, Jiangsu, Huizhou city, Guangdong, Wuhan, Hubei province, People’s Republic, United States, Taiwan, Fangchenggang City, Guangxi, ”, PLA, Taiwan's, AFP

☆ Bitcoin, AI and Magnificent 7: The emerging ETF trends as industry gathers for big conference
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

To grow, the ETF industry has to expand the offerings of active management and devise new ways to entice investors. The big topics in 2024: Bitcoin, AI, Magnificent 7 alternativesIn 2024, the industry is betting that the new crop of bitcoin ETFs will pull in billions. Financial advisors are divided on whether to jump inTen spot bitcoin ETFs have successfully launched. Inflows into bitcoin ETFs to date have been modest, but bitcoin ETFs are being viewed by some advisors as the first true bridge between traditional finance and the crypto community. Jason Pereira, senior partner & financial Planner, Woodgate Financial, is speaking on how financial advisors are using artificial intelligence.

Persons: Matt Hougan, Steve Kurz, David LaValle, Ric Edelman, Edelman, Gary Gensler's, bitcoin, Jason Pereira, Pereira, Roundhill's, Alex Zweber, Eric Veiel, Rowe Price, Brian Portnoy, Neil Bage, feely Organizations: ETF, LIV, Miami, Super, Advisors, JPMorgan, bitcoin, Galaxy, Edelman, Digital Assets, Financial Professionals, SEC, Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, China ETF Locations: Fontainebleau, Miami Beach, China, bitcoin

☆ Donald Trump says he will impose tariffs of more than 60% on China if he returns to the White House
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald Trump says he will impose heavy tariffs on China if he's elected. Trump said he won't start another trade war, but China has "really taken advantage of our country." AdvertisementFormer President Donald Trump says he will introduce tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese goods if he wins November's election. Back in 2018, Trump directed his administration to start imposing tariffs on various Chinese goods. This resulted in a tit-for-tat trade war when China retaliated with its own slate of tariffs.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, —, Maria Bartiromo, they've, Bartiromo Organizations: Service, Fox News, Washington Post, The Locations: China

☆ Chinese hackers are preparing to 'wreak havoc' on US electrical grids, water treatment plants, and oil and gas pipelines: FBI director
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewFBI Director Christopher Wray warned that Chinese hackers are targeting critical US infrastructure in a bid to potentially "wreak havoc" on the lives of ordinary Americans in testimony to Congress. Speaking to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party on Wednesday, Wray said that China is seeking to infiltrate electrical grids, water treatment plants, oil and gas networks, and transport systems. AdvertisementWray's testimony comes after the Justice Department announced that it had disrupted a group of Chinese hackers who infiltrated old routers belonging to private citizens and small businesses. The sole purpose is to be ready to destroy American infrastructure, which would inevitably result in chaos, confusion, and potentially mass casualties." The House select committee Wray testified to was created to counter the intensified threat posed by China, a rare example of bipartisan consensus amid Washington's stark partisan divides.

Persons: —, Christopher Wray, Wray, They're, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Mike Gallagher Organizations: Service, Chinese Communist Party, Business, Justice Department, FBI, CNN Locations: China, San Francisco, Taiwan, Ukraine, South China, Wisconsin

☆ Chinese hackers are determined to 'wreak havoc' on U.S. critical infrastructure, FBI director warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese government hackers are busily targeting water treatment plants, the electrical grid, transportation systems and other critical infrastructure inside the United States, FBI Director Chris Wray will tell House lawmakers on Wednesday in a fresh warning from Washington about Beijing's global ambitions. "China's hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike," Wray will say. The comments align with assessments from outside cybersecurity firms including Microsoft, which said in May that state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of critical communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises. The following month, Mandiant said that suspected state-backed Chinese hackers had used a security hole in a popular email security appliance to break into the networks of hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally. The Chinese government has lashed out at the committee, demanding that its members "discard their ideological bias and zero-sum Cold War mentality."

Persons: Chris Wray, Wray, Mandiant, they're, Mike Gallagher of Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Microsoft, U.S, Republican Rep Locations: United States, Washington, China, Asia, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday warned Congress about a range of threats against the U.S., from Chinese hackers to heightened terrorist risks after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The FBI director has long warned about the Chinese government’s hacking capabilities. Cyberattacks and disinformation warfare can work in tandem, Wray warned. He also noted that AI can enhance foreign adversaries abilities to collect personal data and feed it into disinformation and influence operations. Heightened Terrorist Risk“We are, since Oct. 7, in a heightened threat environment from various forms of terrorist risk,” Wray warned, alluding to Hamas’ attack on Israel last year.

Persons: Christopher Wray, ” Wray, ” TikTok, Wray, ”, “ Organizations: Wednesday, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, FBI, Intelligence Locations: Israel, U.S, China, PRC, Iran

☆ FBI director warns that Chinese hackers are preparing to ‘wreak havoc’ on US critical infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday warned that Chinese hackers are preparing to “wreak havoc and cause real-world harm” to the US. Chinese government-backed hackers, Wray said, are targeting things like water treatment plants, electrical infrastructure and oil and natural gas pipelines, Wray said. The Chinese hackers are working “to find and prepare to destroy or degrade the civilian critical infrastructure that keeps us safe and prosperous,” Wray said. The hearing comes in the wake of a big push by US and Chinese officials to ease tensions in the relationship between the two superpowers. We have made it easy on them,” Jen Easterly, who leads the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told lawmakers.

Persons: Christopher Wray, “, ” Wray, Wray, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Xi, “ China’s, Jen, Paul Nakasone, ” Nakasone, CNN’s Evan Perez Organizations: CNN, Chinese Communist Party, National Security Agency, Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, Justice Department Locations: China, Taiwan, America

☆ China Is Targeting U.S. Infrastructure and Could ‘Wreak Chaos,’ F.B.I. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Christopher A. Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned on Wednesday that China was ramping up an extensive hacking operation geared at taking down the United States’ power grid, oil pipelines and water systems in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Mr. Wray, appearing before a House subcommittee on China, offered an alarming assessment of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts. Its intent is to sow confusion, sap the United States’ will to fight and hamper the American military from deploying resources if the dispute over Taiwan, a major flashpoint between the two superpowers, escalates into a war, he added. Before his testimony, F.B.I. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” said Mr. Wray, who pressed the committee to increase funding for the bureau.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, ” Organizations: Federal Bureau of, Communist, Justice, Volt Typhoon Locations: China, United States, Taiwan, States, Beijing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese government hackers are busily targeting water treatment plants, the electrical grid, transportation systems and other critical infrastructure inside the United States, FBI Director Chris Wray will tell House lawmakers on Wednesday in a fresh warning from Washington about Beijing's global ambitions. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” Wray will say. The comments align with assessments from outside cybersecurity firms including Microsoft, which said in May that state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of critical communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises. The following month, Mandiant said that suspected state-backed Chinese hackers had used a security hole in a popular email security appliance to break into the networks of hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally. The Chinese government has lashed out at the committee, demanding that its members “discard their ideological bias and zero-sum Cold War mentality.”

Persons: Chris Wray, Wray, “, ” Wray, Mandiant, they’re, Mike Gallagher of Organizations: WASHINGTON, Chinese Communist Party, Microsoft, U.S, Republican Rep Locations: United States, Washington, China, Asia, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin

☆ U.S. Needs to Work With Greater Intensity in the Pacific - NZ for Min
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

“Pillar two (of AUKUS) is the examination we're going to look at beginning tonight and tomorrow and going forward," he told Reuters in an interview. New Zealand has had a nuclear free policy since the 1980s and there has been no indication this will change. Peters also said the U.S. had neglected the Pacific since the Second World War, and that had created a vacuum that others had filled. "They've have certainly upped their game, but they need to work with greater intensity on the immediate problems at the ground level of many of the island nations,” he said. Peters did not mention China by name, but jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific has increased in recent years over issues including security, defence, aid and infrastructure.

Persons: Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, Winston Peters, Peters, ”, Lucy Craymer, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Foreign, Pacific Locations: New Zealand, Australia, Britain, U.S, Washington, Wellington, “, China, Beijing

Search resuls for: "When China"

25 mentions found