在美国公司网络内部出现袭击证之前,美国情报人士报道说,中国间谍计划将恶意微芯片引入供应链。最开始,这些消息来源并不具体,只是大概知道每年都有数百丌块动了手脚的主板被运往美国。但在2014年上半年,一位不愿意透漏姓名的官员说道,情报人员拿到了更具体的调查材料交到了白宫:是People's Liberation Army of China将芯片植入到美国公司所使用的Supermicro主板上。
调查人员得出的结论是,这个错综复杂的计划是一个专门从事硬件攻击的People's Liberation Army of China的部门所为,两位知情人士说。这个部门的存在以前从未透露过,但有一位美国官员说,“我们一直在跟踪这些家伙!”该部门被认为专注于高优先级目标,包括高级商业技术和竞争对手的计算机。在过去的攻击中,它针对的是美国大型互联网提供商的高性能计算机芯片和计算系统的设计。
'Stay away from China,' White House top economist tells U.S. businessesKrystal HuReporterYahoo FinanceOctober 6, 2018
As trade tensions escalate between the U.S. and China, Washington is sending a warning to U.S. companies: Think twice about doing business with China.
¨If I were a business, I would basically just stay away from China right now. Their misbehavior is so terrible.〃 Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers said on Yahoo Financeˇs Market Mover Friday. ¨Thatˇs why President Trump is taking a hard line with them. Theyˇve got to change the way they behave if they want to be part of this modern world global economy.〃
Hassett also cited the bombshell story from Bloomberg Businessweek, which
claims Chinaˇs military deployed a microchip to attack hardware in the
claims Chinaˇs military deployed a microchip to attack hardware in the
supply chain and had infiltrated U.S. tech giants like Amazon and Apple. Both companies have denied the report. But it still raised many concerns about Chinese electronic manufacturers. Hong Kong-listed Lenovo and ZTE saw share prices drop by 15% and 10%, respectively, on Friday.
Hassettˇs sentiment was widely echoed by the Trump administration. In an aggressive speech about China on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence claimed Beijing ¨directed its bureaucrats and businesses to obtain American intellectual property〃. He also called out Google to end its project of developing a censored search engine for China, a market the internet giant exited in 2010.
Not easy to give up on ChinaThe ongoing trade negotiation adds many uncertainties to U.S. companies that are planning to access the Chinese market, with its population of 1.3 billion and an expanding middle class. American companies have been active in the Chinese economy since the reform period in the late 1970s, investing hundreds of billions of dollars. President Trump has said the U.S. rebuilt China.
Meanwhile, China has become the growth engine of some U.S. companies. Starbucks (SBUX) is among the biggest success stories. Since opening its first store in Beijing in 1999, the Seattle-based coffee chain now runs 3,400 stores and plans to open a new one every 15 hours through 2022.
Appleˇs premium iPhones are red-hot status symbols in China, where the iPhone maker (AAPL) reported $13 billion in revenue during its fiscal second quarter this year, contributing more than 20% to its global revenue.
Now U.S. businesses are facing a more complicated situation against the backdrop of the trade disputes. Tesla (TSLA), the high-profile electric car maker, is caught in the rising geopolitical fight. The company said the trade conflict has led to a 40% retaliatory tariff on Tesla vehicles exported to China. Exports to the country accounted for about 20% of Teslaˇs automotive revenue during 2017, according to Moodyˇs.
U.S. companies operating in China have already felt the pinch of the trade war, but itˇs hard for them to walk away, citing difficulties moving a supply chain or creating a new one over a short period of time. More than 60% of U.S. companies have been hurt by tariffs imposed by both countries, according to a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Beijing and Shanghai.
¨We support President Trumpˇs efforts to reset U.S.-China trade relations, address long-standing inequities and level the playing field. But we can do so through means other than blanket tariffs,〃 Eric Zheng, chairman of AmCham Shanghai, said in a statement last month.