China

The Wall Street Journal reports: Online actors linked to the Chinese government are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence to target voters in the U.S., Taiwan and elsewhere with disinformation, according to new cybersecurity research and U.S. officials. The Chinese-linked campaigns laundered false information through fake accounts on social-media platforms, seeking to identify divisive domestic political issues and potentially influence elections. The …

Cyberscoop reports: The White House sent a stark warning to U.S. governors on Monday that “disabling” cyberattacks targeting water systems are occurring throughout the United States, in what is the Biden administration’s latest plea to state authorities to direct more resources and attention to protecting water utilities. In their letter, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency invited state …

Reuters reports: Chinese military and state-run media on Sunday accused the United States of threatening global security, days after a Reuters report which found Elon Musk’s SpaceX was building hundreds of spy satellites for a U.S. intelligence agency. A social media account run by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the SpaceX program exposed the United States’ “shamelessness and double …

Reuters reports: Two years into office, President Donald Trump authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to launch a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media aimed at turning public opinion in China against its government, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the highly classified operation. Three former officials told Reuters that the CIA created a small team of operatives …

NBC News reports: FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to warn about the growing threat of Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. electrical grids and other infrastructure during an appearance Wednesday before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, …

Reuters reports: China’s population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, as a record low birth rate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths when strict lockdowns ended accelerated a downturn that will have profound long-term effects on the economy’s growth potential. The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, or …

The BBC reports: The winner of a Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, tournament has been stripped of his title after allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Yan Chenglong has also been accused of cheating by using a communication device analogous to anal beads. The 48-year-old has been stripped of his title and banned from playing for a year. However, the Chinese Xiangqi Association …

The South China Morning Post reports: In a landmark agreement set to be announced at Wednesday’s much-awaited bilateral meeting, Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are poised to pledge a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in autonomous weaponry, such as drones, and in the control and deployment of nuclear warheads. The potential dangers of AI are expected to …

Reuters reports: President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping face-to-face for the first time in a year on Wednesday, the White House said, in high-stakes diplomacy aimed at curbing tensions between the world’s two superpowers. The closely watched interaction, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the San Francisco Bay area, could last hours …

The New York Times reports: When wildfires swept across Maui last month with destructive fury, China’s increasingly resourceful information warriors pounced. The disaster was not natural, they said in a flurry of false posts that spread across the internet, but was the result of a secret “weather weapon” being tested by the United States. To bolster the plausibility, the posts …

Reuters reports: Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, a polarizing move that prompted China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan. China is “highly concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination brought by… Japan’s food and agricultural products,” the customs bureau said …

The Hill reports: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said Tuesday that he was the victim of a hacking attack by Chinese spies after hackers reportedly also managed to read emails belonging to State Department employees. “I thank the FBI for notifying me that the CCP hacked into my personal and campaign emails from May 15th to June 16th of this year,” …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration is hunting for malicious computer code it believes China has hidden deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications systems and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world, according to American military, intelligence and national security officials. The discovery of the malware has raised fears …

The Guardian reports: The Republican presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday he would aim to revoke China’s permanent normal trade relations status if he wins the White House next year. “I favor doing that,” DeSantis told Fox News. “I think we probably need Congress but I would take executive action as appropriate to be able to …

The financial news site Benzinga reports: Tesla, Inc. achieved record-breaking second-quarter deliveries in China on the back of price cuts and promotional efforts implemented earlier this year. But the Elon Musk-led EV maker’s cutthroat methods have seemed to irk Xi Jinping‘s government in one way. In response to this price war initiated by major electric vehicle manufacturers, including Tesla, a …

Via press release from the State Department: Reconsider travel to mainland China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process …

CNN reports: Miami mayor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Francis Suarez indicated in an interview on Tuesday that he was unfamiliar with the plight of Uyghur Muslims, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in China whose treatment has been the subject of worldwide condemnation for years. In an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, the Republican presidential candidate was asked, “Will …

Reuters reports: China’s Xi Jinping hailed “progress” in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing on Monday, the final engagement of a closely-watched trip aimed at ensuring the superpower’s disputes do not spiral into conflict. Blinken, the first holder of his post to meet the Chinese leader since 2018, strode towards Xi with his hand outstretched at …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing early Sunday on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to try to cool exploding U.S.-China tensions that have set many around the world on edge. Blinken was to begin two days of talks with senior Chinese officials in the afternoon. He is the highest-level American official to visit China …

Bloomberg News reports: A prominent LGBTQ+ center in China is closing down after 15 years, another sign of the tightening of space for sexual orientation-focused organizations under President Xi Jinping. In a statement on its WeChat account on Monday, the Beijing LGBT Center said it was terminating its operations effective immediately, saying only that the closing was due to a …