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  1. Biz Analysis 21:39, 26-Oct-2020 Ray Dalio: Don't be blind to China's rise in a changing world CGTN Share Raymond Dalio, co-chairman and co-chief investment officer, Bridgewater Associates, speaks at the 2019 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2019. /VCG People with persistent anti-China bias should clear their minds and not be blind to China's rise in a changing world, Ray Dalio, founder of the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates, wrote in an opinion piece for the Financial Times on Friday. "Prejudice and bias always blind people to opportunity," he argued, before suggesting China skeptics keep their minds clear to see what is actually happening in the country. China's economy grew in 2019 without monetizing debt, Dalio noted, adding that it also produces more than it consumes and achieves a balance of payments surplus. When almost all countries are still struggling against the pandemic, China has achieved some of the world's lowest COVID-19 case rates, the Bridgewater founder wrote, noting that "nearly half the world's initial public offerings will be in China this year, including Ant Financial's $30bn listing, the world's biggest ever. Even Tesla's best-selling Model 3 car may soon be made entirely in China." Dalio opined that many are missing China's extraordinary performance, including its remarkable economic changes over the past four decades, due to a persistent anti-China bias. "Since 1984, (China's) per capita incomes have risen more than 30 times, life expectancy has increased by a decade and poverty rates have fallen nearly to zero," he wrote. He argued Chinese stocks and bonds are undervalued. "China's fundamentals are strong, its assets relatively attractively priced ... These currently account for 3 percent or less of foreign portfolio holdings; a neutral weighting would be closer to 15 percent." In his view, the discrepancy is "at least in part due to anti-Chinese bias" and is going to change. "Chinese markets are opening up to foreigners, who can now access at least 60 percent of them compared with 1 percent in 2015. Benchmark weights in major indices are rising." And Dalio projected that China will "enjoy favorable capital inflows that will support the currency, already at a two-year high, and financial markets too." Meanwhile, he held that the world will inevitably be affected by China-U.S. relations and contended that "time is on China's side." "China's economy is roughly the same size as the U.S.'s and expanding at a faster pace. It has a growing population of well-educated people, with around a third of the world's science and technology university majors, three times the U.S. share," Dalio explained. China rivals the U.S. in advanced technologies, he added, and will probably take the lead in five years. Source
  2. Now that not one but seven Chinese cities - including Wuhan, ground zero of the coronavirus epidemic - and collectively housing some 23 million people, are under quarantine... ... comparisons to the infamous Raccoon City from Resident Evil are coming in hot and heavy. And, since reality often tends to imitate if not art then certainly Hollywood, earlier today we jokingly asked if the Medical Research Institute at Wuhan University would end up being China's version of Umbrella Corp. As it turns out, it wasn't a joke, because moments ago it was brought to our attention that in February 2017, Nature penned an extensive profile of what it called the "Chinese lab poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens." The location of this BSL-4 rated lab? Why, Wuhan. A quick read of what this lab was meant to do, prompts the immediate question whether the coronavirus epidemic isn't a weaponized virus that just happened to escape the lab: The Wuhan lab cost 300 million yuan (US$44 million), and to allay safety concerns it was built far above the flood plain and with the capacity to withstand a magnitude-7 earthquake, although the area has no history of strong earthquakes. It will focus on the control of emerging diseases, store purified viruses and act as a World Health Organization ‘reference laboratory’ linked to similar labs around the world. “It will be a key node in the global biosafety-lab network,” says lab director Yuan Zhiming. The Chinese Academy of Sciences approved the construction of a BSL-4 laboratory in 2003, and the epidemic of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) around the same time lent the project momentum. The lab was designed and constructed with French assistance as part of a 2004 cooperative agreement on the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases. But the complexity of the project, China’s lack of experience, difficulty in maintaining funding and long government approval procedures meant that construction wasn’t finished until the end of 2014. The lab’s first project will be to study the BSL-3 pathogen that causes Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever: a deadly tick-borne virus that affects livestock across the world, including in northwest China, and that can jump to people. Future plans include studying the pathogen that causes SARS, which also doesn’t require a BSL-4 lab, before moving on to Ebola and the West African Lassa virus, What does BSL-4 mean? BSL-4 is the highest level of biocontainment: its criteria include filtering air and treating water and waste before they leave the laboratory, and stipulating that researchers change clothes and shower before and after using lab facilities. Such labs are often controversial. The first BSL-4 lab in Japan was built in 1981, but operated with lower-risk pathogens until 2015, when safety concerns were finally overcome. And here's why all this is an issue: Worries surround the Chinese lab. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times, notes Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Below we repost the full Nature article because it strongly hints, without evidence for now, that the coronavirus epidemic may well have been a weaponized virus which "accidentally" escaped the Wuhan biohazard facility. NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST Inside the Chinese lab poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens A laboratory in Wuhan is on the cusp of being cleared to work with the world’s most dangerous pathogens. The move is part of a plan to build between five and seven biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) labs across the Chinese mainland by 2025, and has generated much excitement, as well as some concerns. Hazard suits hang at the National Bio-safety Laboratory, Wuhan, the first lab on the Chinese mainland equipped for the highest level of biocontainment. Some scientists outside China worry about pathogens escaping, and the addition of a biological dimension to geopolitical tensions between China and other nations. But Chinese microbiologists are celebrating their entrance to the elite cadre empowered to wrestle with the world’s greatest biological threats. “It will offer more opportunities for Chinese researchers, and our contribution on the BSL‑4-level pathogens will benefit the world,” says George Gao, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology in Beijing. There are already two BSL-4 labs in Taiwan, but the National Bio-safety Laboratory, Wuhan, would be the first on the Chinese mainland. The lab was certified as meeting the standards and criteria of BSL-4 by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) in January. The CNAS examined the lab’s infrastructure, equipment and management, says a CNAS representative, paving the way for the Ministry of Health to give its approval. A representative from the ministry says it will move slowly and cautiously; if the assessment goes smoothly, it could approve the laboratory by the end of June. BSL-4 is the highest level of biocontainment: its criteria include filtering air and treating water and waste before they leave the laboratory, and stipulating that researchers change clothes and shower before and after using lab facilities. Such labs are often controversial. The first BSL-4 lab in Japan was built in 1981, but operated with lower-risk pathogens until 2015, when safety concerns were finally overcome. The expansion of BSL-4-lab networks in the United States and Europe over the past 15 years — with more than a dozen now in operation or under construction in each region — also met with resistance, including questions about the need for so many facilities. The Wuhan lab cost 300 million yuan (US$44 million), and to allay safety concerns it was built far above the flood plain and with the capacity to withstand a magnitude-7 earthquake, although the area has no history of strong earthquakes. It will focus on the control of emerging diseases, store purified viruses and act as a World Health Organization ‘reference laboratory’ linked to similar labs around the world. “It will be a key node in the global biosafety-lab network,” says lab director Yuan Zhiming. The Chinese Academy of Sciences approved the construction of a BSL-4 laboratory in 2003, and the epidemic of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) around the same time lent the project momentum. The lab was designed and constructed with French assistance as part of a 2004 cooperative agreement on the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases. But the complexity of the project, China’s lack of experience, difficulty in maintaining funding and long government approval procedures meant that construction wasn’t finished until the end of 2014. The lab’s first project will be to study the BSL-3 pathogen that causes Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever: a deadly tick-borne virus that affects livestock across the world, including in northwest China, and that can jump to people. Future plans include studying the pathogen that causes SARS, which also doesn’t require a BSL-4 lab, before moving on to Ebola and the West African Lassa virus, which do. Some one million Chinese people work in Africa; the country needs to be ready for any eventuality, says Yuan. “Viruses don’t know borders.” Gao travelled to Sierra Leone during the recent Ebola outbreak, allowing his team to report the speed with which the virus mutated into new strains. The Wuhan lab will give his group a chance to study how such viruses cause disease, and to develop treatments based on antibodies and small molecules, he says. The opportunities for international collaboration, meanwhile, will aid the genetic analysis and epidemiology of emergent diseases. “The world is facing more new emerging viruses, and we need more contribution from China,” says Gao. In particular, the emergence of zoonotic viruses — those that jump to humans from animals, such as SARS or Ebola — is a concern, says Bruno Lina, director of the VirPath virology lab in Lyon, France. Many staff from the Wuhan lab have been training at a BSL-4 lab in Lyon, which some scientists find reassuring. And the facility has already carried out a test-run using a low-risk virus. But worries surround the Chinese lab, too. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times, notes Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Tim Trevan, founder of CHROME Biosafety and Biosecurity Consulting in Damascus, Maryland, says that an open culture is important to keeping BSL-4 labs safe, and he questions how easy this will be in China, where society emphasizes hierarchy. “Diversity of viewpoint, flat structures where everyone feels free to speak up and openness of information are important,” he says. Yuan says that he has worked to address this issue with staff. “We tell them the most important thing is that they report what they have or haven’t done,” he says. And the lab’s inter­national collaborations will increase openness. “Transparency is the basis of the lab,” he adds. The plan to expand into a network heightens such concerns. One BSL-4 lab in Harbin is already awaiting accreditation; the next two are expected to be in Beijing and Kunming, the latter focused on using monkey models to study disease. Lina says that China’s size justifies this scale, and that the opportunity to combine BSL-4 research with an abundance of research monkeys — Chinese researchers face less red tape than those in the West when it comes to research on primates — could be powerful. “If you want to test vaccines or antivirals, you need a non-human primate model,” says Lina. But Ebright is not convinced of the need for more than one BSL-4 lab in mainland China. He suspects that the expansion there is a reaction to the networks in the United States and Europe, which he says are also unwarranted. He adds that governments will assume that such excess capacity is for the potential development of bioweapons. “These facilities are inherently dual use,” he says. The prospect of ramping up opportunities to inject monkeys with pathogens also worries, rather than excites, him: “They can run, they can scratch, they can bite.” The central monitor room at China’s National Bio-safety Laboratory If that wasn't enough, here is January 2018 press release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, announcing the launch of the "top-level biosafety lab." China has put its first level-four biosafety laboratory into operation, capable of conducting experiments with highly pathogenic microorganisms that can cause fatal diseases, according to the national health authority. Level four is the highest biosafety level, used for diagnostic work and research on easily transmitted pathogens that can cause fatal diseases, including the Ebola virus. The Wuhan national level-four biosafety lab recently passed an assessment organized by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, according to a news release on Friday from the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Virologists read data on a container for viral samples at China's first level-four biosafety lab at the Institute of Virology in Wuhan After evaluating such things as the lab's management of personnel, facilities, animals, disposals and viruses, experts believed the lab is qualified to carry out experiments on highly pathogenic microorganisms that can cause fatal diseases, such as Marburg, Variola, Nipah and Ebola. "The lab provides a complete, world-leading biosafety system. This means Chinese scientists can study the most dangerous pathogenic microorganisms in their own lab," the Wuhan institute said. It will serve as the country's research and development center on prevention and control of infectious diseases, as a pathogen collection center and as the United Nations' reference laboratory for infectious diseases, the institute said. Previous media reports said the Wuhan P4 lab will be open to scientists from home and abroad. Scientists can conduct research on anti-virus drugs and vaccines in the lab. The lab is part of Sino-French cooperation in the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases, according to the news release. The central government approved the P4 laboratory in 2003 when the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome spread alarm across the country. In October 2004, China signed a cooperation agreement with France on the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases. This was followed by a succession of supplementary agreements. With French assistance in laboratory design, biosafety standards establishment and personnel training, construction began in 2011 and lasted for three years. In 2015, the lab was put into trial operation. Source
  3. Only one lab in China can safely handle the new coronavirus (Image: © CC2.0 Flickr/davidmartindavies ) As an escalating viral outbreak unfolds in China, only one lab in the country meets the required biosafety standards needed to study the new disease. The lab happens to sit in the center of Wuhan, the city where the newly identified coronavirus first appeared, according to the Hindustan Times, an Indian news outlet. The facility, known as the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, is housed within the Chinese Academy of Sciences and was specifically designed to help Chinese scientists "prepare for and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks," according to a 2019 report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Chinese government moved to construct such a lab following the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic, during which more than 8,000 people caught the infection and more than 750 died worldwide, according to the CDC. Laboratories that handle pathogens receive a rating of 1 to 4, depending on what class of microbe they can feasibly contain, with 1 representing the lowest risk and 4 representing the highest risk. Designated at Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4), the Wuhan lab can hold the world's most dangerous pathogens at maximum biocontainment levels. Related: 27 Devastating Infectious Diseases All researchers in a BSL-4 lab must change their clothing upon entering the facility, shower upon exiting and decontaminate all of the materials used during experimentation, according to the CDC. Lab members wear full-body, pressurized suits to isolate themselves from the surrounding environment. The lab itself must be held in a separate building or an isolated wing within the surrounding university and must be supplied with its own air filtration and decontamination systems. BSL-4 labs are built to contain infectious agents such as the Ebola, Nipah and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever viruses, all of which are highly transmissible and frequently fatal diseases. Although China intends to build five to seven high-containment laboratories by 2025, as of now, only the Wuhan lab can currently contain pathogens of this nature, according to the 2019 CDC report. Chinese health officials have classified the new coronavirus as a Class B infectious disease, placing the illness in the same category as SARS and HIV/AIDS, The Washington Post reported. However, the Chinese government announced that it will institute Class A controls — which are usually reserved for more dangerous diseases, like cholera and the plague — in an attempt to contain the outbreak. Reports of the first infection of this coronavirus in a U.S. citizen, a man in Washington state, have already prompted Chinese health authorities to place Wuhan under quasi-quarantine, meaning that movement to and from the region is now under tight control. Authorities may forcibly quarantine individuals known or suspected to be infected with the virus and will inform the public of each new case identified in China, according to The Washington Post. More than 400 people have contracted the new coronavirus in China so far, along with others in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the U.S. China's supply of surgical masks is running low, and many travelers have canceled their plans for the upcoming Lunar New Year because of fears of becoming infected, the South China Morning Post reported. Only time will tell how and when the outbreak will be quelled and whether the outbreak presents any substantial threat to global health. Source
  4. He calls the water arrangement between Hong Kong and Guangdong an "unequal" deal. Chapman To (Du Wen Ze, 杜汶澤) is a Hong Kong actor and comedian known for his roles in the Infernal Affairs trilogy and the Initial D movie. Known for anti-mainland China views He is also known for his anti-government views, and for supporting the pro-democracy movements in both Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as his anti-mainland China sentiments. As a result, he has been banned from the Chinese market, and has since ventured into the film markets in Malaysia and Singapore, setting up a movie production firm in Malaysia and collaborating with Singaporean comedian Mark Lee in the movie King of Mahjong. To called out unfair water contract between Hong Kong and Guangdong In an episode of his regular talk show Chapman To’s Late Show that aired on Jan. 15, To talked about that the water agreement signed between Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government and the Guangdong local government in 2006. The episode was titled, “A big gift from the Chinese Communist Party”. In the show, To referred to the agreement as the “minimum price contract” and the “2006 Hong Kong inequality contract”. Guangdong province is situated at the southernmost tip of mainland China adjacent to Hong Kong. Here’s the segment from the episode: To explained that under the contract, Hong Kong had to buy 820 million cubic metres of water from mainland China. The volume was increased from 22.7 million cubic metres to 820 million cubic metres, he said. He further said the cost of importing water from Guangdong was HK$4.8 billion (S$832 million) in 2019 alone. However, even if Hong Kong does not use all the water they are entitled to under the contract, the SAR is still required to pay the price. “That was the contract, it’s minimum payment,” To said. He likened the contract to paying HK$8,000 (S$1,387) at a club for bottle service even if a customer just ordered a single glass of juice. To: Beijing should thank Hongkongers instead To added that Hong Kong residents could not use up all 820 million cubic metres of water they are entitled to annually, which meant that the city “overpaid” Guangdong by HK4.5 billion (S$781 million) in 10 years. Lastly, in response to the narrative among some mainland Chinese that Hongkongers should thank mainland China for providing them with water, To said it is the mainland Chinese who should thank Hongkongers instead for the huge amount of money the mainland Chinese got from the deal. The live audience in the studio then erupted in applause. Mainland China supplies 70 to 80 percent of Hong Kong’s water Hong Kong has been importing water from the Dong River, or Dongjiang, since 1965. According to the SAR government’s Water Supplies Department, the Dong River is Hong Kong’s main source of water. Water pipes from Dongjiang in Sheung Shui. (Image via Wikipedia Commons) About 70 to 80 percent of the city’s water supply comes from the river. The city gets its remaining 20 to 30 percent of water from the rainfall captured in natural catchments. Lump sum package deal criticised for inflexbility The details surrounding the water agreement that To criticised appear to be accurate. Hong Kong pays HK$4.22 billion (S$732 million) annually for water from the Dong River, regardless of how much it actually uses, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. And according to an article published by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), the agreement cost the SAR HK$4.5 billion (S$781 million) for “water it did not consume”. Hong Kong has been “getting the shorter end of the stick” under the lump sum package deal approach, it added. SCMP reported that while the annual supply ceiling is fixed at 820 million cubic metres, the import amount is adjusted monthly according to the needs of Hong Kong resident and rainfall in the city. Such a lump sum deal has been criticised for its inflexibility. Hong Kong consumes nearly a billion cubic metres of freshwater every year. Hong Kong and Guangdong have agreed to review the current price package this year. You can watch the entire episode here: Source
  5. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to review the nation's achievements over the past 70 years and also talk about China's future.PHOTO: AFP PUBLISHED AUG 29, 2019, 3:12 PM SGT BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a major speech to mark 70 years since the official founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the government announced on Thursday (Aug 29). The speech on Oct 1 will be accompanied by a national day parade showcasing China's advances in military technology, Mr Wang Xiaohui, executive vice-minister for the Communist Party's Publicity Department, said at a press briefing in Beijing. "The purpose is to motivate and mobilise the whole party, the whole military, and all of the people to unite closely around the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee with Mr Xi at the core," Mr Wang said. The speech will be closely watched for hints on China's policy direction, especially with the nation facing pressure on multiple fronts, from the trade war with the US and protests in Hong Kong to a slowing domestic economy. Mr Xi is expected to review the nation's achievements over the past 70 years and also talk about China's future. He used a speech marking the anniversary of China's May Fourth movement earlier this year to urge the country's young people to stay loyal to the Communist Party. The scale of the parade will be larger than those held to celebrate the 50th or 60th anniversaries of the PRC, Major-General Cai Zhijun, who is vice-director of the office for parade organisation, said at the press conference. Keep up with the latest in the region with the ST Asian Insider newsletter, delivered to your inbox every weekday Mr Cai said the parade would show China's "great achievements" in national defence and the "accumulation of power for promotion of national rejuvenation". The parade will include strategic nuclear missiles and advanced fighter jets such as the nation's first stealth fighter, the J-20, the South China Morning Post reported. Installations preparing for the celebration are already being erected in Tiananmen Square and security is being tightened across the city in preparation for the event. The events will include a National Day Gala, an award ceremony and a musical performance, as well as commemorative stamps and coins, Mr Wang said. Source
  6. SAN FRANCISCO — A top executive and daughter of the founder of the Chinese tech giant Huawei was arrested on Saturday in Canada at the request of the United States, in a move likely to escalate tensions between the two countries at a delicate moment. The arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer, unfolded on the same night that President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China dined together in Buenos Aires and agreed to a 90-day trade truce. The two countries are set to begin tense negotiations in hopes of ending a trade war that has been pummeling both economies. Those talks now face an even steeper challenge. The aim will be for the United States to ease its tariffs; in exchange, China will be expected to lower trade barriers and further open its markets to American businesses. What’s more, Ms. Meng’s detention raises questions about the Trump administration’s overall China strategy. Beijing is now likely to pressure Canada to release her and to press the United States to avoid a trial. “The arrest of a family member linked to Huawei’s founder indicates how the tension between the two sides is rapidly escalating,” said T.J. Pempel, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in East Asian politics and economy. Ms. Meng, who joined Huawei in 1993 and is also a deputy chairwoman, was taken into custody in Vancouver on Dec. 1, said Ian McLeod, a spokesman for Canada’s Justice Department. He said she was “sought for extradition by the United States” but did not give a reason for what prompted the arrest. He added that a publication ban requested by Ms. Meng prevented him from providing any further details. A bail hearing has been set for Friday. Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican of Nebraska, linked the arrest to the American sanctions against Iran. Mr. Sasse said China had been “working to creatively undermine our national security interests, and the United States and our allies can’t sit on the sidelines.” He added that “Americans are grateful that our Canadian partners have arrested the chief financial officer of a giant Chinese telecom company for breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran.” Huawei, China’s largest telecom equipment maker, has been under investigation into whether it had broken American trade controls to countries including Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. This year, the Treasury and Commerce Department also asked the Justice Department to investigate Huawei for possibly violating economic sanctions against Iran, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York took on the case, he said. In response, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Canada said in a statement that “the Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions” and urged the authorities “to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms. Meng.” Huawei said in a statement that Ms. Meng was arrested while changing planes in Canada and that she faced unspecified charges from the Eastern District of New York. “The company has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng,” Huawei said, adding that it complies with all laws where it operates. Press representatives for the Justice Department and the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond when asked if Mr. Trump was aware of the detention during his dinner with President Xi. The arrest meets several major foreign policy aims of the Trump administration. American officials have sought to persuade other nations to curb business ventures with Huawei because of security concerns. The White House has also focused on tightening and enforcing economic sanctions on Iran, months after Mr. Trump announced he was withdrawing from a multinational agreement reached under President Barack Obama’s administration to freeze Iran’s nuclear arms program. Last month, the United States imposed sanctions aimed at reducing exports of Iranian oil to zero and crippling Iran’s economy, though China is one of a handful of countries allowed to continue to buy oil for six months. The United States and China have also been locked in a struggle for high-tech supremacy, in a race that has increasingly taken on political undertones this year. While the United States has long claimed an advantage in the tech industry, China’s internet companies, semiconductor makers and telecom equipment makers have all been growing rapidly, with many benefiting from government investment. President Trump has tied national security to advancement in technologies like wireless networks, and has made protection of the domestic tech industry a part of his agenda. In March, he blocked a $117 billion bid by Broadcom, a Singapore-based chip maker, for the American chip maker Qualcomm, citing national security concerns and how it might allow China to leap ahead in next-generation 5G wireless networks. A month later, the Commerce Department banned ZTE, China’s second-largest maker of telecommunications equipment, from using components made in the United States. Federal authorities said ZTE had violated American sanctions against Iran and North Korea, in a move that caused the Chinese company to cease “major operating activities” for a time. Mr. Trump ultimately intervened and ZTE agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, replace its board and senior leadership and allow the United States to inspect its operations with a handpicked compliance team. Over the last decade, Huawei has grown into a powerhouse. Founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former People’s Liberation Army engineer, it generated over $90 billion in revenue in 2017. Its equipment is the backbone of mobile networks around the world, and its smartphones are popular in Europe and China. That has made it a symbol of China’s technological prowess and evolution from a country that makes cheap but unreliable gadgets to cutting-edge products that can rival the best of Silicon Valley and other Asian technology giants. Yet Huawei has long faced scrutiny as a security threat in the United States. Washington has expressed concern about using Huawei products, citing spying risk because of the company’s close ties to the Chinese government. While Huawei has long tried to make inroads into the United States, it has been bedeviled by the security concerns. In January, Huawei’s effort to sell a new line of smartphones in the United States was derailed when AT&T walked away from a deal to distribute the devices. Eswar Prasad, a trade policy professor at Cornell University, said the Huawei issue could be a cloud over coming talks. “A fragile trade truce between China and the U.S. that was already foundering is now at greater risk of unraveling in relatively short order,” Professor Prasad said. He added: “It is likely that China will have a measured response to this incident, although it will certainly add a sharper edge to the negotiations between the two sides.” Daisuke Wakabayashi reported from San Francisco and Alan Rappeport from Washington. Ian Austen, Katie Benner and Edward Wong contributed reporting. Source
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