As Washington and Beijing continue to go tit-for-tat
in the ongoing trade war,... it seems they're
raising the stakes by further targeting crucial
industries.
Oh Soo-young explains.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has
issued "strong concern" that Chinese-made
drones may be sending flight data back to
China.
According to CNN, U.S. companies have been
warned to exercise caution when buying devices,...
which could "transfer American data into an
authoritarian state which permits its intelligence
services to have unfettered access" to such
information.
While the warning did not specify the companies,
it is presumed to target DJI, China's number
one drone-maker which accounts for almost
80 percent of drones in the U.S. and Canada.
The warning comes amid the ongoing trade dispute
between Washington and Beijing,... and after
President Donald Trump's order last week that
bans U.S. firms from doing business with China's
Huawei.
But to minimize impact on Huawei's existing
U.S. customers and enable software updates,
Washington on Monday eased some of the restrictions,...
allowing Huawei to buy American products for
90 days.
.
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei appeared to dismiss
this move on Tuesday, saying Washington's
actions to block Huawei from purchasing American
chips underestimate the Chinese company's
capabilities.
Ren told CCTV that Huawei was at odds with
the U.S. government,... not U.S. firms,...
and that his company could make the chips
it buys from America.
He indicated that the firm had been ready
for U.S. action.
In fact, Beijing appears to be sending a message
that it isn't backing down.
China's Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday
that President Xi Jinping had visited a company
specializing in rare earth minerals,... which
are crucial for producing smartphones, superconductors
and other high-tech devices.
Rare earth minerals were among the few goods
Washington excluded from plans to impose wide-ranging
tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S.
Observers have interpreted Xi's visit as a
strategic reminder of America's heavy reliance
on Chinese minerals,... further generating
speculation that they could be used as a leverage,...
and raise the stakes in the ongoing trade
war.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
