DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Arch-rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to revive ties, reopen embassies in China-brokered deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"As a result of the talks, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies ...within two months," Iran's news agency IRNA reported Friday. Saudi Arabia's state Saudi Press Agency confirmed the announcement in its own statement. The Saudi statement profusely thanked Beijing for its leadership in the talks. The Saudi statement also expressed thanks to Riyadh's neighbors Iraq and Oman, which it said had hosted "rounds of dialogue that took place between both sides during the years 2021-2022." Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016, after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran in response to Saudi authorities executing 47 dissidents, including a leading Shia cleric.

☆ Biden budget plan includes billions aimed at countering China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's budget plan put forward on Thursday includes requests for billions of dollars of funding for the Indo-Pacific region aimed at countering China through infrastructure investments and other support for U.S. partners and allies in the region. Biden's budget proposal already faces stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers, although party leaders generally support efforts to counter China. The budget proposal for 2024 includes $400 million for a fund to "counter specific problematic PRC behaviors globally," according to a State Department fact sheet. The administration is requesting mandatory spending, in addition to traditional discretionary funding, including $2 billion to support infrastructure projects and $2 billion to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and support partners to push back against China, Bass said. The budget also includes funding to expand the U.S. presence in the Pacific Islands, a region where Washington is competing with growing Chinese influence, he said.

☆ Czech cyber watchdog warns against using TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRAGUE, March 8 (Reuters) - The Czech cyber security watchdog warned on Wednesday against using TikTok, joining a growing number of Western agencies alleging the Chinese-owned social media app poses a security risk. The NUKIB agency recommended that TikTok should not be installed on phones whose users access critical and other significant infrastructure. NUKIB also recommended politicians and officials to avoid using TikTok, and said the wider public should consider whether to use the app as well, especially for sharing content. ByteDance has said previously that concerns about the app are fuelled by misinformation, and has denied using it for spying. The European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council have banned TikTok from staff phones.

☆ China plans to revamp finance, tech oversight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Lintao Zhang | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China plans to overhaul its financial regulatory system by consolidating aspects of the central bank and securities regulator under a new entity, while doing away with the existing banking regulator. The moves also come as Beijing has increased regulation on parts of the economy that had developed quickly, with little oversight. The latest plan calls for the establishment of a National Financial Regulatory Administration, which replaces the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and expands its role. watch nowThe China Securities Regulatory Commission's investor protection responsibilities are set to shift to the new financial regulator. "China's consolidated financial regulatory body is [a] paradigm shift to ramp up oversight of its vast financial system," said Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University.

☆ CIA future will be defined by US technology race with China, director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency is shown at the entrance of the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, U.S., September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s future will be defined by America's ongoing technology race with China, agency director William Burns said on Wednesday during a Senate hearing. Burns’ remarks followed the release of the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, which pointed to China as the biggest national security threat facing America. “It's also the main determinant of our future as an intelligence service as well.”The CIA director was speaking during Congress’s so-called Worldwide Threats hearing, also featuring other heads of the U.S. intelligence community, including National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray. Gen. Nakasone, the NSA director, testified China's cyber operations have grown more aggressive recently.

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - China will maintain its cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States despite international concerns about the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence agencies said on Wednesday. "Despite global backlash over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defense, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support," they said in a report released as the Senate Intelligence Committee held its annual hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security. "The next few years are critical as strategic competition with China and Russia intensifies in particular how the world will evolve, and whether the rise of authoritarianism can be checked and reversed," Haines added. Haines described "a grinding, attritional war" in Ukraine and said U.S. intelligence does not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Jonathan Landay, Michael Martina; Editing by Doina Chiacu;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taiwan says working on president's 'transit' plans amid reported U.S. trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, March 8 (Reuters) - Taiwan's presidential office said on Wednesday that it is working on "transit" plans for an overseas visit by President Tsai Ing-wen, amid reports she will meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States. McCarthy plans to meet Tsai in the United States in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday. That could be instead of the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. McCarthy on Tuesday confirmed plans to meet Tsai in the United States this year and stressed this did not preclude a later visit to Taiwan, Bloomberg news agency reported. The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

☆ China Renaissance says its missing founder Bao Fan is cooperating with a government probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China Renaissance said this month it was unable to contact its founder and CEO Bao Fan. BEIJING — Missing Chinese investment banker Bao Fan is cooperating with a government investigation, his firm China Renaissance said in a filing Sunday. "The Board has become aware that Mr. Bao is currently cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China," China Renaissance said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange Sunday. In both filings this month, China Renaissance said its business continued to operate normally. Its shares hit a record low of 5 Hong Kong dollars (64 cents) on Feb. 17 but have since recovered slightly.

☆ U.S. looks to expand Taiwan military training -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters reported in 2021 that a small number of U.S. special operations forces have been rotating into Taiwan on a temporary basis to train their forces. Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Friday, Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said he "didn't know" the source of the information about expanded training. He added Taiwan and the United States had a lot of military interaction, and declined further comment. Taiwan's official Central News Agency this week reported that a battalion of around 500 soldiers would go to the United States for training this year. Chu indirectly confirmed that some soldiers would head to the United States for training that would be more tactical than in the past, but did not provide details of numbers.

☆ Putin says Xi to visit Russia, ties reaching 'new frontiers'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Putin meets WangPutin says Xi to visit RussiaPutin: ties reaching new frontiersWang: Others cannot undermine our relationsWang: Sino-Russian ties not directed against othersMOSCOW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that China's Xi Jinping would visit Russia, saying relations had reached "new frontiers" amid U.S. concerns that Beijing could provide material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We await a visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed on this," Putin told Wang. "Together we support multi-polarity and democratisation in international relations," Wang told Putin. When Xi met Putin face to face just before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, they sealed a "no limits" partnership that triggered anxiety in the West. For Xi, Russia is now more dependent on China than ever.

☆ China offers 'no apology' in first meeting after spy balloon incident, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News' "Meet the Press" that China's senior foreign minister Wang Yi offered "no apology" for the spy balloon that floated over the U.S. during their meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. China's senior foreign minister offered "no apology" in his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the spy balloon that floated over the U.S., Blinken said in an interview Saturday on NBC News' "Meet the Press." "There was no apology," Blinken said of his conversation with Wang Yi, director of the People's Republic of China CCP Central Foreign Affairs office. Blinken met with Wang on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany prior to the interview. Blinken said the U.S. isn't the only nation that has been subject to Chinese spy balloons.

[1/2] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at the bilateral meeting at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany February 17, 2023. Michael Probst/Pool via REUTERSFeb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris discussed challenges posed by China with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and agreed to remain closely aligned during meetings with the leaders in Munich, the White House said on Friday. Harris "discussed challenges posed by the People's Republic of China, including the importance of upholding the rules-based order, and agreed to remain closely aligned," the White House said in a statement. Harris defended the United States' handling of the balloon incident and the shooting down of three other unidentified objects. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly demanded that foreign officials not visit the democratically governed island.

☆ Blinken meets with senior Chinese diplomat in Munich amid tensions over suspected spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Andrea Mitchell | Christina Zhao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday met with a senior Chinese diplomat at a conference in Munich, a State Department spokesperson said. Diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China have risen since the shooting down of the alleged Chinese spy balloon, which China has insisted was not intended for spying. Earlier Thursday, Biden delivered his first remarks about the Chinese balloon and three unidentified objects flying above North America that were downed by the U.S. military. One was shot down Feb. 10 over Alaska, another was shot down Feb. 11 over Canada, and a third was shot down over Lake Huron on Feb. 12. U.S. Northern Command said Friday it recommended an end to the search for debris from two objects shot down in United States airspace this month.

☆ Pentagon's top China official travels to Taiwan, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Flags of Taiwan and U.S. are placed for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan March 27, 2018. Speaking earlier, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said he was "not very certain" about a report that the trip would take place. Chase would be the most senior U.S. defence official known to have visited the island since 2019. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly demanded that foreign officials not visit the democratically governed island. In 2020, a two-star Navy admiral overseeing U.S. military intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region made an unannounced visit to Taiwan.

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. diplomatic communications with China remain open after the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon this month, but contact between the countries' militaries "unfortunately" remains shut down, the White House said on Friday. Kirby told a White House news briefing that U.S. and Chinese diplomats can still communicate despite tensions over the balloon incident. "I recognize that there are tensions, but Secretary Blinken still has an open line of communication with the foreign minister. "The president will want to have a conversation with President Xi at the appropriate time." "It needed to be shot down because we were confident that it was used by China to spy on American people," she told MSNBC.

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. diplomatic communications with China remain open after the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon this month, but contact between the countries' militaries "unfortunately" remains shut down, the White House said on Friday. Kirby told a White House news briefing that U.S. and Chinese diplomats can still communicate despite tensions over the balloon incident. "I recognize that there are tensions, but Secretary Blinken still has an open line of communication with the foreign minister. He said he expected to speak with Chinese leader Xi about it and hoped to get to the bottom of the affair. "The president will want to have a conversation with President Xi at the appropriate time."

☆ China sanctions Lockheed Martin, Raytheon for selling weapons to Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

China on Thursday imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan, stepping up efforts to isolate the island democracy claimed by the ruling Communist Party as part of its territory. Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp.'s Raytheon Missiles and Defense are barred from importing goods into China or making new investments in the country, the Ministry of Commerce announced. The United States bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China, but some military contractors also have civilian businesses in aerospace and other markets. The United States has no official relations with Taiwan but maintains extensive commercial and informal contacts. In China, Lockheed Martin has sold air traffic control equipment for civilian airports and helicopters for commercial use.

☆ U.S. says all countries should warn China against Taiwan conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The United States hopes China will not use any visits by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan as an excuse for military action, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, adding that all countries should warn Beijing against conflict over the island. "And we hope that the PRC (People's Republic of China) does not use a visit by a member of Congress to Taiwan as a pretext for military action," Sherman said. China stepped up military drills around Taiwan as a result of Pelosi's visit. "The same would be true of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait," Sherman said. "That's going to create a lot of problems for those who are supporting this unholy invasion going forward," she said.

☆ Taiwan says it has spotted no Chinese surveillance balloons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAIPEI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan has not spotted any surveillance balloons from China in its vicinity, the island's defence ministry said on Tuesday, as a dispute between China and the United States over spy balloons triggers worries about rising military tensions. The U.S. military on Feb. 4 shot down what it called a Chinese spy balloon over South Carolina. A Taiwan military intelligence officer said the armed forces had not seen any surveillance balloons from China near the island that were similar to the one shot down over the United States. "The majority of the balloons near our waters were used for meteorological purposes," the officer, Major General Huang Wen-chi, told a regular briefing in Taipei, adding that the weather balloons posed no serious security threat. The balloons detected near Taiwan has no steering capability and thus they were unlikely to be used for surveillance purposes, he added.

☆ U.S. backs Philippines in laser dispute with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday said it stood with the Philippines after Manila accused China's coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the South China Sea. "The United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People's Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard's reported use of laser devices against the crew of a Philippine Coast Guard ship on February 6 in the South China Sea," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. China's foreign ministry said its coast guard conducted actions according to the law. Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

One U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that a meeting between Blinken and Wang was possible at the Munich conference, which runs from Feb. 17-19. "I know there's been a report about a potential meeting in Munich, but I have nothing to announce today." U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan noted last week that Blinken had postponed his visit to China, not canceled it or sworn off future high-level communication with China. China's has reacted angrily to Washington's spying allegations, saying the balloon was a civilian research craft and accusing Washington of hypocrisy. "But neither side wants to handle scheduling in the glare of media attention, and both sides are dealing with the uncertainty of balloon-related drama."

☆ Chinese spy balloon carried 'multiple antennas' for collecting signals intelligence, State Dept. says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Abigail Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese balloon that flew above the U.S. for eight days included "multiple antennas" capable of collecting signals intelligence, a senior State Department official said Thursday, and the balloon maker has proven ties to the Chinese military. While China condemned the U.S. for destroying what it said was a weather balloon, the State Department official described the balloon as carrying equipment designed to collect communications and threatened action against Beijing. Gen. Pat Ryder said that the U.S. has gathered extensive information about the Chinese surveillance balloons over time and will be able to detect them in the future. U.S. officials said previously that there were had been multiple Chinese balloon flights over American territory during the former Trump administration and another during the Biden administration. "What we do know is that in some cases, whereas some of these balloons previously had not been identified, subsequent analysis, subsequent intelligence analysis did enable us to indicate that these were Chinese balloons," Ryder said.

☆ U.S. may target Chinese entities linked to spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Washington is confident that the manufacturer of the Chinese balloon, shot down by the U.S. military last weekend off the U.S. East Coast, has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official said in a statement. Separately on Thursday, speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman highlighted the flight of the Chinese balloon as another sign of Beijing's efforts to reshape the international order. "This irresponsible act put on full display what we've long recognized: that the PRC (People's Republic of China) has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad," Sherman told the hearing. Sherman said Washington would continue to block China from using U.S. technology to advance its military modernization.

Navy photo/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to the Chinese military that supported the incursion by a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Sherman also said the United States would continue to prevent China’s exploitation of U.S. technology to enable its own military modernization. China's foreign ministry has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting. The public spectacle of a Chinese balloon drifting slowly across the United States has brought into sharp focus the challenge posed by China to the United States and its allies. An Asia diplomat told Reuters there was a free flow of information about the balloon, with the United States passing on additional details to allies and partner as they became available.

☆ Spy balloon confirms 'pattern of Chinese behavior' that poses threat to NATO members, Stoltenberg says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg delivers remarks to the news media as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2022. WASHINGTON – The Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the United States last week presents security challenges for NATO's 30-member alliance as well as other countries around the globe, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. "We need to be aware of the constant risk of Chinese intelligence and step up what we do to protect ourselves and react in a prudent and responsible way," he said, adding that European countries have seen an increase in Chinese intelligence activities. Stoltenberg's remarks come as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard complete a recovery operation of the downed spy balloon roughly six miles off the coast of South Carolina. On Saturday, Biden gave the order to take the 200-foot-tall spy balloon out of the sky.

Search resuls for: "People's Republic of China"

25 mentions found