US Senate sees bipartisan support for sweeping legislation to strengthen US R&D, tech production

In a significant development, the U.S. Senate voted 68-32 to approve a sweeping legislative package aimed at boosting the country’s ability to compete with China, with the U.S. Congress seeking to take a tough line on Beijing. The bipartisan measure authorizes around $190 billion in provisions to strengthen U.S. technology and research spending; it will…

Australia probe foreign influence efforts through social media platforms

On Thursday, Australia started an investigation into the potential usage of foreign influence using social media platforms such as WeChat, Facebook, and Twitter. The development comes in the wake of heightened concerns in the country that China is seeking to cast its influence in Canberra’s affairs. In the past, Russia had used social media to…

FBI’s Counterintelligence Division admits to slow response in China’s theft of U.S. intellectual property

During a testimony to the U.S. Senate, the FBI said it wished it had taken swifter action with regard to Chinese recruitment of U.S.-based researchers to transfer intellectual property from American laboratories. The admission by John Brown, assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division at the FBI, backed up a Senate subcommittee report which concluded that…

Brazil signs technology safeguard agreement with the U.S.

In a development that paves the way for U.S. companies to use Brazil’s Alcantara base in the Northeastern-state of Maranhao to launch satellites, the Brazilian Senate has approved the ratification of an agreement signed earlier this year to safeguard U.S. space and defense technology. The agreement was earlier signed in March 2019 during an official…

ZTE faces strong headwinds from the U.S. Senate

The headwinds stem from the outcome of an investigation which concluded that ZTE and Huawei Technologies are Chinese telecommunications firms that are linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence apparatus. According to U.S. lawmakers, legislation has already been prepared to block the Trump administration’s agreement with China which allows ZTE Corp to resume business ties…