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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the trade-wars-2.0 dept.

Chinese Tech Giant on Brink of Collapse in New U.S. Cold War (archive)

Not Apple. Not Huawei. The first casualty of the high-tech cold war between the United States and China might be the biggest electronics maker you've never heard of.

The Chinese firm ZTE said on Wednesday [PDF] it had ceased "major operating activities" after the Trump administration banned the company last month from using components made in the United States. With manufacturing halted at the ZTE plant in Shenzhen, factory workers have been getting called in for training sessions every other day or so — a snooze, they say. The rest of the time, they loaf around in nearby dorms.

Trading in the company's shares has been suspended for weeks. Staff members have been instructed, in new guidelines reviewed by The New York Times, to reassure anxious clients, while being sure to avoid discussing with them the American technology from which the firm is cut off for the next seven years.

One of China's most internationally successful technology suppliers, with about $17 billion in annual revenue, ZTE is facing a death sentence. The Commerce Department has blocked its access to American-made components until 2025, saying the company failed to punish employees who violated trade controls against Iran and North Korea.

Update: President Trump has vowed to get ZTE "back into business, fast" (archive):

President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018

Also at Fortune, WSJ, USAToday and CNN.

Previously: U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
ZTE Responds to U.S. Ban on Sales by American Companies to ZTE


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:12PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:12PM (#679357)

    We've not seen one single shred of proof that ZTE represents more of a risk than any one of many EVERY other asian cell/android manufacturer.

    We also haven't seen any evidence that asian manufacturers represent a greater risk than any of the other manufacturers of proprietary junk. The US government is also hostile to freedom and privacy, and is in a better position to harm US citizens, after all. Maybe we should focus on making everything run Free Software instead of banning specific products (which does nothing).

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @12:42AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @12:42AM (#679378)

    With anti-tivoization clauses like the GPLv3 variants mandate.

    Because the need for that clause has been proven in the years since tivoization has happened in cellphones and all major computer processors currently manufactured. Until we regain lowest level access to our hardware and the ability to flash firmware WE trust, not the manufacturer, we will never be digitally safe again. Except of course in the way Big Brother loved us in 1984.