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ChinaRevolutionUpdate

  • FBI & DOJ Investigating ByteDance & TikTok’s Surveillance of Journalists

    FBI & DOJ Investigating ByteDance & TikTok’s Surveillance of Journalists

    As if TikTok’s problems couldn’t get any worse, the FBI and DOJ are investigating its parent company for surveilling Forbes journalists.

    TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance. The company is under pressure around the globe as one jurisdiction after another bans TikTok from government devices over privacy concerns.

    One of the most egregious privacy and security violations involved ByteDance’s admission that it used TikTok to surveil Forbes journalists, tracking their locations. The admission has sparked an investigation by the FBI and DOJ, according to Forbes:

    According to a source in position to know, the DOJ Criminal Division, Fraud Section, working alongside the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, has subpoenaed information from ByteDance regarding efforts by its employees to access U.S. journalists’ location information or other private user data using the TikTok app. According to two sources, the FBI has been conducting interviews related to the surveillance. ByteDance’s use of the app to surveil U.S. citizens was first reported by Forbes in October, and confirmed by an internal company investigation in December.

    At the time of the admission, ByteDance executives expressed their disapproval, with the executive responsible for the actions, Chris Lepitak, being fired. His direct superior who reported to the CEO, Song Ye, also resigned.

    “I was deeply disappointed when I was notified of the situation… and I’m sure you feel the same,” CEO Rubo Liang wrote in an internal email shared with Forbes at the time. “The public trust that we have spent huge efforts building is going to be significantly undermined by the misconduct of a few individuals. … I believe this situation will serve as a lesson to us all.”

    “It is standard practice for companies to have an internal audit group authorized to investigate code of conduct violations,” TikTok General Counsel Erich Andersen wrote in a second email. “However, in this case individuals misused their authority to obtain access to TikTok user data.”

    ByteDance told Forbes it would cooperate with any official investigation:

    “We have strongly condemned the actions of the individuals found to have been involved, and they are no longer employed at ByteDance. Our internal investigation is still ongoing, and we will cooperate with any official investigations when brought to us,” said ByteDance spokesperson Jennifer Banks. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.

    The news comes at a time when TikTok is facing its most daunting challenges. In addition to being banned from government devices in the US, EU, UK, and Canada, the Biden administration has told ByteDance that TikTok will face a nationwide ban unless the company divests from TikTok.

  • TikTok May Split From ByteDance to Avoid US Ban

    TikTok May Split From ByteDance to Avoid US Ban

    TikTok is considering drastic action in an effort to avoid a US ban, including the possibility of splitting from parent ByteDance.

    TikTok is increasingly under fire over privacy and security concerns. The company is owned by China-based ByteDance, raising concerns over national security, given China’s long history of surveillance and state-backed hacking.

    Facing a possible US ban, as well as increased restrictions in Canada and the EU, TikTok is considering what would once have been unthinkable, according to Bloomberg. According to the outlet’s sources, the measure is considered a last-ditch option, only to be used if existing efforts to appease national security officials fail. Even then, such a measure would have to be approved by the Chinese government, something that likely has a low chance of happening.

    In the meantime, TikTok is emphasizing the measures it is already taking to comply with US demands:

    “Neither a ban of TikTok nor a divestiture of TikTok from ByteDance does anything to address national security concerns about data transfers,” said Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok. “Under Project Texas, TikTok data for our US users would be held to a significantly higher security standard than any comparable American company.”

  • Netherlands Follow US Lead in Chip War Against China

    Netherlands Follow US Lead in Chip War Against China

    The Netherlands has joined the US chip war against China, restricting export of the country’s “most advanced” chips.

    The US has been pressuring allies to follow its lead in isolating China in the global semiconductor market. The Netherlands is home to ASML, a key player in the semiconductor supply chain.

    The decision will impact “very specific technologies in the semiconductor production cycle,” Dutch trade minister Liesje Schreinemacher said, via BBC News.

    “The Netherlands considers it necessary on national and international security grounds that this technology is brought under control as soon as possible,” she added in a letter to lawmakers.

    ASML acknowledged in a statement that the decision would impact its exports:

    Due to these upcoming regulations, ASML will need to apply for export licenses for shipment of the most advanced immersion DUV systems.

    At the same time, the company does not expect the measures to have a material impact on its performance:

    Based on today’s announcement, our expectation of the Dutch government’s licensing policy, and the current market situation, we do not expect these measures to have a material effect on our financial outlook that we have published for 2023 or for our longer-term scenarios as announced during our Investor Day in November last year.

  • Germany Poised to Ban Huawei and ZTE From 5G Networks

    Germany Poised to Ban Huawei and ZTE From 5G Networks

    Germany is poised to ban Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE from participating in its 5G networks, dealing another blow to the firms.

    The US has already banned Huawei and ZTE, and has been pressuring its allies to do the same. Intelligence agencies have long expressed concerns over the companies’ ties to Beijing and their obligation to assist China’s foreign surveillance efforts.

    According to Reuters, Germany is preparing to ban the two companies, prohibiting telecom operators from using their equipment. In addition, Germany may even require operators to remove existing equipment manufactured by Huawei and ZTE, similar to measures taken in the US.

    Interestingly, although Huawei would not publicly speculate on Germany’s actions, a spokesperson told Reuters that the company had a “very good security record.”

    Of course, that statement ignores the fact that Huawei had the ability to monitor calls on one of the largest Dutch wireless networks, even raising the possibility that it could have monitored the calls of then prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

  • China’s Top Chipmaker YMTC Gets State-Backed $7 Billion Infusion

    China’s Top Chipmaker YMTC Gets State-Backed $7 Billion Infusion

    China is pulling out all the stops to boost its semiconductor industry, with its top firm receiving a major infusion from state-backed investors.

    The US and its allies have been working to cut China off from advanced semiconductor tech. Some sources say this has resulted in driving the country’s chipmaking industry to the verge of collapse. In response, China committed to a $143 billion investment package to help its semiconductor industry become more self-sufficient.

    According to the South China Morning Post, state-backed investors have sunk $7.1 billion (49 billion yuan) into the company. This brings the company’s registered capital to more than 105 billion yuan.

    Interestingly, high-performance computing, quantum computing, and advanced integrated circuit design and fabrication are three of the seven areas where the US still has a technological lead over China, out of a total of 44 areas. China is clearly willing to spend the necessary money to close that gap.

  • China Is Leading the US in 37 of 44 Key Technologies

    China Is Leading the US in 37 of 44 Key Technologies

    As the trade and tech war between the US and China heats up, a new report says China is leading in 37 of 44 key technologies.

    The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) conducted a study that was funded by the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center and a grant from The Special Competitive Studies Project. The goal of the study was to see which countries had a technological lead.

    According to ASPI, China leads the US in all but seven areas. The areas where the US still has a lead are:

    • High-performance computing
    • Advanced integrated circuit design and fabrication
    • Natural language processing
    • Quantum computing
    • Vaccines and medical countermeasures
    • Small satellites
    • Space launch systems

    In every other category, ranging from manufacturing materials to AI algorithms to nuclear waste management, China has the lead. ASPI says this could have profound, long-term repercussions:

    China’s overall research lead, and its dominant concentration of expertise across a range of strategic sectors, has short and long term implications for democratic nations. In the long term, China’s leading research position means that it has set itself up to excel not just in current technological development in almost all sectors, but in future technologies that don’t yet exist. Unchecked, this could shift not just technological development and control but global power and influence to an authoritarian state where the development, testing and application of emerging, critical and military technologies isn’t open and transparent and where it can’t be scrutinised by independent civil society and media.

    In the more immediate term, that lead—coupled with successful strategies for translating research breakthroughs to commercial systems and products that are fed into an efficient manufacturing base—could allow China to gain a stranglehold on the global supply of certain critical technologies.

    The full report is here and well worth a read.

  • Canada Bans TikTok From Government Devices

    Canada Bans TikTok From Government Devices

    Canada is the latest jurisdiction to ban TikTok from government devices, another setback for the Chinese social media platform.

    According to AP News, the Canadian government has banned the popular app from all government-owned devices. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t rule out additional steps down the road.

    “I suspect that as government takes the significant step of telling all federal employees that they can no longer use TikTok on their work phones many Canadians from business to private individuals will reflect on the security of their own data and perhaps make choices,” Trudeau said.

    “I’m always a fan of giving Canadians the information for them to make the right decisions for them,” he added.

    The EU Commission and US Congress has already banned the app on government devices. US lawmakers have introduced legislation that would ban the app entirely, and the EU has signaled it could do the same if TikTok fails to respect user privacy.

  • China’s Scientists Are Working to Circumvent US Chip Sanctions

    China’s Scientists Are Working to Circumvent US Chip Sanctions

    China’s scientists are going on the offensive against US chip sanctions as the country tries to keep its semiconductor industry running.

    The US has been working to restrict China’s access to advanced chip technologies and has increasingly been convincing its allies to do the same. Some reports have suggested China’s semiconductor industry is on the verge of collapse as a result, and Beijing is pouring billions into the industry to help it weather the challenges.

    According to Bloomberg, China’s scientists are now joining the fray, coming up with ways to compete with the US. One of the leading strategies put forth by two academics is to amass a portfolio of patents that could be weaponized in the semiconductor wars. In their proposal, Luo Junwei and Li Shushen said the country’s scientists should focus on patenting materials and methods necessary for the next generation of chip design.

    “We should vigorously promote the spirit of scientists who pursue originality and resist low-level, repetitive follow-up research,” the scientists wrote.

    This development is just the latest that illustrates the high-stakes nature of the semiconductor industry and why countries are increasingly viewing the industry as a matter of national security.

  • Akamai Is Taking on the Cloud’s Top Dogs With Linode

    Akamai Is Taking on the Cloud’s Top Dogs With Linode

    Akamai is hitting the ground running with its Linode purchase, using it as the backbone of its cloud ambitions.

    Akamai made its name as the world’s leading content delivery network (CDN), but has been aggressively transforming itself into a cloud provider. It’s $900 million purchase of Linode was a major piece of that transformation and the company is using it as a launchpad to challenge the cloud industry’s giants.

    Last week, Akamai unviled its Connected Cloud service, and promised a “a fundamentally different approach to cloud.” The company plans to build “three new enterprise-scale core cloud computing sites” in the US and Europe. The new sites are expected to go live by the end of Q2 2023 and will be based on the Linode assets. The sites will also serve as a template for 10 additional core sites the company will deploy throughout the year.

    The company also plans to roll out out at least 50 distributed sites in 2023, greatly expanding cloud computing’s reach, especially in remote locations.

    In what is sure to be good news for many companies, Akamai plans to bring CDN economics to cloud egress pricing in an effort to help drive down cost. This has been a growing concern for many companies, with cloud computing costs growing much faster than many expected.

    “The cloud’s next phase requires a shift in how developers and enterprises think about getting applications and data closer to their customers. It redefines how the industry looks at things like performance, scale, cost, and security, as workloads are no longer built for one place but are delivered across a wide spectrum of compute and geography,” said Dave McCarthy, Research VP, IDC. “Akamai’s innovative rethinking of how this gets done — and how it is architecting Akamai Connected Cloud — puts it in a unique position to usher in an exciting new era for technology and to help enterprises build, deploy, and secure distributed applications.”

    “We’re taking a fundamentally different approach to cloud computing — building on 25 years of experience scaling and securing the internet for the biggest companies in the world,” said Tom Leighton, Akamai’s Co-Founder and CEO. “Akamai is building the cloud the next decade needs.”

  • Where Is Bao Fan? Billionaire Chinese Banker Is Missing

    Where Is Bao Fan? Billionaire Chinese Banker Is Missing

    Bao Fan, a prominent tech banker and head of China Renaissance, has gone missing, sparking fresh fears of another Chinese tech crackdown.

    Bao Fan is one of China’s leading financial CEOs, having founded China Renaissance in 2005 after stints at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. According to The Guardian, quoting local news outlet Caixin, Bao Fan has been unreachable for two days, sparking a 50% drop in the company’s stock price. The price eventually regained 30%, but the questions about the CEO’s whereabouts remain.

    “[We] believe that everyone has had a restless night. At this time, [we] hope that you do not believe in or spread rumours,” the company said in a message to employees, seen by The Wall Street Journal.

    The incident is reminiscent of Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s disappearance in early 2021 amid Beijing’s crackdown on the tech and finance sector. Ma went missing for months before finally reappearing in a state media video. The fact that it was a state media video did little to reassure investors and fans that he was ok. Interestingly, Ma has since agreed to give up control of the Ant Group, the financial company at the heart of China’s regulatory efforts surrounding Ma.

    Many fear Bao Fan’s disappearance could be indicative of a similar crackdown on China Renaissance.

    Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, told The Guardian he was “not aware of the relevant information” about Bao’s disappearance.

    “But I can tell you that China is a country under the rule of law,” he added. “The Chinese government protects the legitimate rights of its citizens in accordance with the law.”

  • US Senator Asks Apple and Google to Remove TikTok, Citing ‘Unacceptable Threat’

    US Senator Asks Apple and Google to Remove TikTok, Citing ‘Unacceptable Threat’

    US Senator Michael Bennet has called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, calling it an “unacceptable threat.”

    Calls for a ban on TikTok have been increasing as a result of the company’s continued privacy and security scandals, as well as the security implications of its ties to Beijing. The company has recently admitted to surveiling US journalists, has mislead Congress about how it handles US data, and ultimately refused to keep such data out of China. Multiple states and government entities have already banned the app from government devices, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has called for Apple and Google to ban it.

    Senator Bennet has joined that call, asking Apple and Google to remove the app.

    “Like most social media platforms, TikTok collects vast and sophisticated data from its users, including faceprints and voiceprints. Unlike most social media platforms, TikTok poses a unique concern because Chinese law obligates ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent company, to ‘support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work,’” wrote Bennet.

    Read More: TikTok Accused of Illegally Collecting Data and Uploading It to China

    “Beijing’s requirement raises the obvious risk that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could weaponize TikTok against the United States, specifically, by forcing ByteDance to surrender Americans’ sensitive data or manipulate the content Americans receive to advance China’s interests,” continued Bennet in the letter. “No company subject to CCP dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people or curate content to nearly a third of our population.”

    Bennet then highlighted the steps Congress has already taken to limit the app, making the case that Apple and Google should do the same.

    “Last year, Congress recognized the unacceptable security risks from TikTok and banned it from all federal government devices. At least 27 state governments have also passed full or partial bans on the app. Given these grave and growing concerns, I ask that you remove TikTok from your respective app stores immediately,” concluded Bennet.

    TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the House Energy & Commerce Committee on March 23. Given the increasing push to ban the platform, his testimony should prove interesting.

  • Japan and Netherlands Poised to Join US in China Semiconductor Crackdown

    Japan and Netherlands Poised to Join US in China Semiconductor Crackdown

    Japan and the Netherlands may be joining the US in its efforts to isolate the Chinese semiconductor industry over security concerns.

    The US has been working to restrict high-tech components from making their way to China. Some analysts believe the country’s semiconductor industry has “collapsed,” but Beijing is spending big to revitalize it.

    According to The Guardian, Japan and the Netherlands are preparing to join the US in its efforts. The confirmation came via a US official that seemed to confirm the existence of a deal but failed to provide any details.

    “We can’t talk about the deal right now,” said Don Graves, deputy commerce department secretary. “But you can certainly talk to our friends in Japan and the Netherlands.”

    If the deal does exist, it will prove a major setback to China’s semiconductor industry, cutting it off from even more of its supply chain.

  • US Tightens the Noose Around Huawei’s Phone Business

    US Tightens the Noose Around Huawei’s Phone Business

    The Biden administration has tightened the noose around Huawei’s phone business, restricting access to older technology.

    Huawei was once one of the biggest smartphone makers in the world and looked poised to dominate the industry for years. Concerns over its association with the Chinese government was its undoing, with the US and its allies imposing sanctions and bans on the company. As a result, Huawei’s phone business was virtually ruined.

    Despite being cut off from more advanced technology, the company was still allowed to purchase older tech from US companies. It appears that door has now slammed shut, according to Reuters, with the US government banning the company from buying most of the remaining tech it still had access to.

    According to the report, Huawei is now effectively cut off from US-based tech, including “4G items, Wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items.”

    The Commerce Department would not confirm or deny the report. If it is true, however, it would deal a major blow to Huawei’s phone business, as well as its other endeavors.

    Huawei has been pivoting to other industries, especially ones that do not rely so heavily on US tech, such as software and cloud computing. The company has also explored the possibility of entering the electric vehicle market.

    With the US tightening restrictions, however, Huawei may soon find its other ventures under the same kind of pressure its phone business experienced.

  • TikTok CEO to Testify Before House Energy & Commerce Committee

    TikTok CEO to Testify Before House Energy & Commerce Committee

    TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the House Energy & Commerce Committee to address the company’s privacy and data practices.

    TikTok is under fire on all sides, with multiple states and government entities banning the app from government-owned devices. Legislation has been introduced to ban the app from the US entirely, and the EU has signaled it may do the same if TikTok fails to comply with regulation.

    Read more: Europe Is Finally Going After TikTok

    The Energy & Commerce Committee wants answers from TikTok’s CEO — his first appearance before a Congressional committee — about how the company intends to address the myriad privacy and data concerns regarding it. The committee also wants answers regarding TikTok’s ties to Beijing.

    “Big Tech has increasingly become a destructive force in American society,” said Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers. “The Energy and Commerce Committee has been at the forefront of asking Big Tech CEOs – from Facebook to Twitter to Google – to answer for their companies’ actions. These efforts will continue with TikTok. ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data. Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security, as well as what actions TikTok is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms. We’ve made our concerns clear with TikTok. It is now time to continue the committee’s efforts to hold Big Tech accountable by bringing TikTok before the committee to provide complete and honest answers for people.”

    The CEO is scheduled to testify on March 23, 2023.

  • Europe Is Finally Going After TikTok

    Europe Is Finally Going After TikTok

    The European Union is finally beginning to scrutinize TikTok, changing the status quo that has seen the Chinese platform go largely unchallenged.

    TikTok has been under fire in the US for several years, but the EU has largely been silent, instead focusing its attention on larger players among Big Tech. According to CNBC, that appears to be changing.

    Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner of the Internet Market, has reportedly warned TikTok CEO Shou Zi that the app could be banned if it fails to comply with EU digital content regulations by the September 1 deadline.

    TikTok has evidently avoided scrutiny so far through a combination of popularity among Europeans and flying under the radar. While EU regulators have been concerned over the social media platform and its penchant for privacy and data scandals, the bloc has been more concerned with companies like Google and Meta.

    “It takes a little bit of time for the European Commission to get its act together on these issues,” Dexter Thillien, lead tech and telecoms analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC.

    “It’s not because of a lack of willingness from the European Commission to do something,” Thillien continued. “They’ve got their hands full with bigger companies.”

    That appears to be changing, however, with the bloc finally turning its attention to TikTok and realizing action will be needed to reign in its privacy abuses.

    “TikTok’s success is the result of a European policy failure,” Moritz Korner, a member of the European Parliament for Germany’s Free Democratic Party, told CNBC.

    “From a geopolitical perspective, the EU’s inactivity towards TikTok has been naive.”

  • Senator Hawley Introduces Bill to Ban TikTok

    Senator Hawley Introduces Bill to Ban TikTok

    Senator Josh Hawley has introduced the No TikTok on United States Devices Act bill in an effort to ban the popular social media platform.

    TikTok has come under repeated fire for privacy abuses and violations. The company has abused user privacy so much, the list is simply too long to fully enumerate. Some of the highlights, however, include misleading Congress regarding how US user data is processed and monitoring Forbes journalists. As a result, the calls for a complete ban on the app have been mounting.

    Senator Hawley has introduced a bill aimed at making that happen. He was joined by Representative Ken Buck.

    “TikTok poses a threat to all Americans who have the app on their devices. It opens the door for the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans’ personal information, keystrokes, and location through aggressive data harvesting. Banning it on government devices was a step in the right direction, but now is the time to ban it nationwide to protect the American people,” said Senator Hawley.

    “TikTok is a clear threat to our privacy and national security. Not only is TikTok directly associated with the Chinese Communist Party, but it has been used to spy on Americans and gain an alarming level of access to users’ phones. This should concern every citizen who values their privacy, security, and personal information. Banning CCP tied TikTok nationwide is the only route to ending this malicious cybersecurity threat,” said Representative Buck. “I am proud to introduce this legislation alongside Sen. Josh Hawley to ensure that every Americans’ privacy and security is protected from hostile foreign entities.”

    Hawley has already introduced the bill twice before, with it unanimously passing the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on one occasion, and the entire Senate on the other occasion. With Republicans in control of the House, there is a good chance the bill will pass both chambers.

  • Didi Free to Accept New Signups As China Ends Tech Crackdown

    Didi Free to Accept New Signups As China Ends Tech Crackdown

    In a sign that China’s war on tech is finally over, ride-sharing service Didi is once again free to accept new signups.

    China has been waging war on tech companies in an effort to reign them in. As part of the crackdown, Beijing banned Didi from app stores and investigated its handling of customer data, according to CNN. The investigation was launched just days after Didi went public, wiping out tens of billions from the company’s value.

    Roughly a week after a Chinese official declared the tech crackdown “basically” over, Didi is once again free to conduct its business.

    “For more than a year, our company has cooperated with the government’s cybersecurity review, seriously dealt with the security issues found in the review, and carried out a comprehensive rectification,” Didi said in a statement posted on its Weibo account, via CNN.

  • TikTok May Be Throwing in the Towel In Its Attempts to Appease the US

    TikTok May Be Throwing in the Towel In Its Attempts to Appease the US

    TikTok may be ready to give up its efforts to appease US officials in the wake of repeated privacy issues and violations.

    TikTok has been under fire for years, stumbling from one privacy misstep to another. There have also been ongoing concerns that TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, poses a national security risk as a result of being based in China. The Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to force ByteDance to sell off TikTok’s US assets.

    In an effort to appease US officials, TikTok was willing to undergo external audits to prove its algorithms were not influenced by Beijing, with Oracle tasked with performing the audits.

    According to Reuters, via Android Police, TikTok appears to be backing away from that strategy. The company was interviewing potential consultants to help it enforce any deal the US might impose, but has since put its recruitment efforts on hold for the time being.

    The company said the holdup is a result of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States not yet approving any deal. The company also says it is instead focusing on candidates that would not require approval by the CFIUS.

    In the wake of revelations that ByteDance used TikTok to surveil American journalists, the platform’s situation has gone from bad to worse. Multiple states and the House of Representatives have banned the platform from government-owned devices, and many are calling for an outright ban of the app.

    Whatever TikTok’s motivations, hiring experts that don’t require CFIUS approval is unlikely to win the company any goodwill among regulators and legislators.

  • Dell Will Eliminate Chinese Chips From Its Products

    Dell Will Eliminate Chinese Chips From Its Products

    Dell will reportedly no longer use Chinese-made chips in its computers beginning in 2024, the latest challenge to China’s semiconductor industry.

    China has faced mounting pressure on its semiconductor industry as the US and allies have tried isolating China and restricting the country’s access to leading technology. Much of the action is driven by concerns over surveillance and espionage, with many Chinese companies having close ties to Beijing and it’s spying apparatus.

    According to Nikkei Asia, Dell plans to eliminate the use of chips made by Chinese firms. What’s more, the company also plans to phase out chips manufactured in China by non-Chinese companies.

    “The goal is quite aggressive. The determined shift involves not only those chips that are currently made by Chinese chipmakers but also at the facilities in China of non-Chinese suppliers,” one person with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei. “If suppliers don’t have responding measures, they could eventually lose orders from Dell.”

    HP has evidently has also expressed an interested in reducing or eliminating its dependence on China-based manufacturing facilities, but Dell’s move has certainly made waves in the industry.

    “There are thousands of components for notebook computers, and the ecosystem was so mature and complete in China for years,” a chip supplier exec that works with both Dell and HP told Nikkei. “Previously we knew Dell kind of had plans to diversify from China, but this time it is kind of radical. They don’t even want their chips to be made in China, citing concerns over the U.S. government’s policy. … It’s not just an evaluation, it’s not crying wolf. It’s a real and ongoing plan, and this trend looks irreversible.”

    China’s semiconductor was reportedly on the verge of collapse as a result of US sanctions. China is already planning a $143 billion package to buoy its chipmaking industry. If other companies follow Dell’s example, however, it could result in the wholesale devastation of what remains.

  • Alibaba Reshuffles Execs, CEO Takes Over Cloud Unit

    Alibaba Reshuffles Execs, CEO Takes Over Cloud Unit

    Alibaba has undergone a major reorganization of its executives, with the CEO taking over as head of the company’s cloud unit.

    Unlike many companies, Alibaba has a system in place to rotate its executives, courtesy of former CEO Jack Ma. The system is designed to keep Alibaba nimble and prevent it from stagnating in a fast-moving industry.

    As part of its latest shuffle, CEO Daniel Zhang “will assume the role of acting President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and responsibility for the communication and collaboration platform DingTalk.”

    The previous head of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, Jeff Zhang, will focus on his role head of Alibaba DAMO Academy, as well as T-Head, Alibaba’s proprietary chip development team. He will also continue leading the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) efforts.

    “Over the past four years, Jeff has led the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence team to deliver outstanding results in technological innovation and industry influence,” said Daniel in an internal email to staff.

    “As the country enters a new stage of living with Covid and policymakers have given direction to the future development of the platform economy, we are more confident than ever that continued development is the key to solving the challenges we face today,” Daniel continued in the email.

  • Covid Tests Required for Travelers From China to the US

    Covid Tests Required for Travelers From China to the US

    The US has implemented new measures requiring travelers from China to take a Covid test over growing concerns about an increase in cases.

    While the US has largely ended its own strict Covid policies, this latest move comes amid growing concerns about the state of China. China recently ended its strict Covid policies and has experienced a significant increase in cases as a result.

    According to Politico, US officials are also worried about the possibility of new variants coming out of China.

    “Predeparture testing and the requirement to show a negative test result decreases the number of infected passengers boarding airplanes and it will help to slow the spread of the virus as we work through identifying and understand any potential new variants that may emerge,” a federal health official told reporters.

    Travelers from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport will also be required to have a negative Covid test two days before coming to the US if they have been to China in the previous 10 days.

    Officials hope this latest measure, in combination with other CDC recommendations, will help slow the spread and reduce the likelihood of new strains.

    “We know these measures will not eliminate all risk or completely prevent people who are infected from entering the United States,” the federal health official said. “But taken together they will help limit the number of infected people and provide us an early warning about new variants.”