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
Related Stories
Intelligence agency heads have warned against using Huawei and ZTE products and services:
The heads of six major US intelligence agencies have warned that American citizens shouldn't use products and services made by Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE. According to a report from CNBC, the intelligence chiefs made the recommendation during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday. The group included the heads of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the director of national intelligence.
During his testimony, FBI Director Chris Wray said the the government was "deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don't share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks." He added that this would provide "the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage."
These warnings are nothing new. The US intelligence community has long been wary of Huawei, which was founded by a former engineer in China's People's Liberation Army and has been described by US politicians as "effectively an arm of the Chinese government." This caution led to a ban on Huawei bidding for US government contracts in 2014, and it's now causing problems for the company's push into consumer electronics.
Verizon and AT&T recently cancelled plans to sell Huawei's Mate 10 Pro smartphone.
Don't use a Huawei phone because it's too Chinese. Don't use an Apple phone because strong encryption is not "responsible encryption". Which phone is just right for the FBI?
Previously: U.S. Lawmakers Urge AT&T to Cut Ties With Huawei
Related: FBI Director Christopher Wray Keeps War on Encryption Alive
U.S. Government Reportedly Wants to Build a 5G Network to Thwart Chinese Spying
Huawei's consumer business group CEO Richard Yu is not giving up on selling smartphones and other devices in the U.S., despite warnings against the company made by U.S. government officials and a lack of support from retailers. The company recently released a new flagship smartphone, the Huawei P20 Pro:
"We are committed to the US market and to earning the trust of US consumers by staying focused on delivering world-class products and innovation," Yu told CNET in an email. "We would never compromise that trust."
The comments mark a defiant response to the vague warnings made by US officials that have effectively crippled Huawei's ability to get its phones in front of consumers. In January, AT&T pulled out of a landmark plan to sell the Mate 10 Pro, an important high-end Huawei phone. Verizon reportedly also scuttled a deal to carry the device based on political pressure. CNET was also first to report that Best Buy, the US' largest electronics retailer, dropped Huawei phones from its roster.
[...] "The security risk concerns are based on groundless suspicions and are quite frankly unfair," Yu said. "We welcome an open and transparent discussion if it is based on facts." [...] "We work with 46 of the 50 global operators," Yu told CNET, "And have maintained a very strong security record because security is one of our top priorities." [...] "Even without the United States market, we'll be No. 1 in the world," Yu said earlier this week.
Huawei reported a 27% jump in profits in 2017, despite its struggle to establish itself in the U.S. market.
See also: Huawei P20 launch highlights the risks of U.S. paranoia over Chinese security
Huawei's P20 Pro is a hugely promising phone that will upset Americans
Previously: U.S. Lawmakers Urge AT&T to Cut Ties With Huawei
Verizon Cancels Plans to Sell Huawei Phone Due to U.S. Government Pressure
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Banning Chinese network gear is a really bad idea, small ISPs tell FCC
The Federal Communications Commission's proposed ban on Huawei and ZTE gear in government-funded projects will hurt small Internet providers' efforts to deploy broadband, according to a lobby group for rural ISPs.
As previously reported, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal would prevent Universal Service Fund (USF) money from being used to buy equipment or services from companies that "pos[e] a national security risk." If the FCC approves the proposal, the ban is most likely to prevent the purchase of equipment from Chinese technology vendors Huawei and ZTE. But it could also affect other companies and technology from other countries, depending on how the FCC determines which companies pose national security threats.
ISPs who use federal money to build or expand broadband service would end up with fewer options for buying network gear. This would "irreparably damage broadband networks (and limit future deployment) in many rural and remote areas throughout the country," the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) told the FCC in a filing yesterday.
The RWA represents rural wireless Internet providers that offer home or mobile Internet service and have fewer than 100,000 subscribers. A recent Wall Street Journal report said that small ISPs rely on Huawei gear more than large telcos do.
Previously: U.S. Lawmakers Urge AT&T to Cut Ties With Huawei
U.S. Government Reportedly Wants to Build a 5G Network to Thwart Chinese Spying
U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
China's ZTE slams U.S. ban, says company's survival at risk
China's ZTE Corp said on Friday that a U.S. ban on the sale of parts and software to the company was unfair and threatens its survival, and vowed to safeguard its interests through all legal means.
The United States this week imposed a ban on sales by American companies to ZTE for seven years, saying the Chinese company had broken a settlement agreement with repeated false statements - a move that threatens to cut off its supply chain.
"It is unacceptable that BIS insists on unfairly imposing the most severe penalty on ZTE even before the completion of investigation of facts," ZTE said in its first response since the ban was announced, referring to the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. "The Denial Order will not only severely impact the survival and development of ZTE, but will also cause damages to all partners of ZTE including a large number of U.S. companies," ZTE said in a statement.
ZTE said it regards compliance as the cornerstone of its strategy, adding it invested $50 million in export control compliance projects in 2017 and plans to invest more this year. A senior U.S. Commerce Department official told Reuters earlier this week that it is unlikely to lift the ban.
Also at WSJ.
Previously: U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
Related: ZTE's $99 Zmax Pro Smartphone Packs in Top-Line Features
President Trump yesterday signed a defense funding bill that included a sweeping ban on the US government using technology supplied by Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE and Huawei. The bill also includes a narrower ban on using surveillance gear provided by Chinese companies Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, or Dahua Technology for national security applications.
The legislation directs federal agencies to stop using the Chinese-made hardware within two years. If that proves impractical, an agency can apply for a waiver to permit a longer phase-out period.
Obviously, being banned from selling to the US government is a significant blow to these companies. But overall the bill actually represents something of a reprieve for ZTE. Back in June, the US Senate passed a version of the bill that would have re-imposed an export ban that would have been a de facto death sentence for ZTE because ZTE is heavily dependent on components like Qualcomm chips and Google's Android operating system.
Previously: Verizon Cancels Plans to Sell Huawei Phone Due to U.S. Government Pressure
U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
ZTE Suspends Operations Due to U.S. Ban (UPDATED)
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia's government on Thursday banned major Chinese telecoms firm Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment for its planned 5G mobile network, citing risks of foreign interference.
The 1000-word statement did not mention China, or the Chinese telecommunications equipment giants Huawei or ZTE. Nor did it plainly state the bombshell decision that they are to be banned from building Australia's new telecommunications network.
The fifth generation mobile telecoms system, or 5G, is a big deal. It's to be the key architecture of an increasingly wired nation, connecting power and water systems, medical and driverless technologies, systems in homes and hospitals, factories and farms, enabling the so-called "internet of things".
If you're getting the impression that the government didn't want to draw attention to the announcement, you're right. After months of careful scrutiny, the cabinet's national security committee had made the decision a week earlier. Then sat on it.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:35PM (30 children)
This is how you play the game.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:43PM (18 children)
There ought to be some valid outcome to the game, no?
We've not seen one single shred of proof that ZTE represents more of a risk than any one of
manyEVERY other asian cell/android manufacturer.The NSA/CIA/FBI have not demonstrated or shown even one single exploit that these devices have that is not already in place on every other device.
I'm left to wonder if it is not a Chinese back door that they are worrying about but rather the lack of an American Backdoor.
Disclaimer: I have a ZTE tablet. Inexpensive, and very nice. Sort of chaffed that my government prevented me from getting updates to a perfectly pedestrian tablet with ZERO due process.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:49PM (9 children)
There may be no risk, but the US is starting to play hardball in trade, after the Chinese have been interfering with our companies and tricking them to hand over their IP for years.
Anyway, it is China's duty to help its companies defend themselves against US sanctions, it is Europe's duty to protect its companies' trade with Iran (cowards as they are, they will just roll over), and it is America's duty to fight for access and protection in the Chinese market.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Fluffeh on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:57PM (2 children)
I wonder how the US companies supplying the components are coping with the reduced sales.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:11PM (1 child)
If they're big (ie can afford to deal with the paperwork), and their trading is impacted because of government policy, there's a pretty good chance they can claim assistance from the government.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:56PM
Typically usian: make a hell of the Joe Average's life, let the businesses suck from the budget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)
I have very little respect for "IP" [gnu.org] in general, and the same should be true of everyone else. It's mostly used to attack freedom and stifle competition and innovation, despite the fact that it is supposed to have the opposite effect.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday May 14 2018, @07:48AM
I agree, but those who steal IP do not. They first steal what they can, then when they have enough weight begin protecting their own innovations. Example, the USA.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by frojack on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:19PM (1 child)
This has never been about access or protection.
Its ALWAYS been about DHS unsubstantiated claims against these two companies as posing a risk to US digital infrastructure.
And you know what? I don't even doubt there are some serious risks of having millions of platforms associated with the Chinese military on all of the US cellular infrastructure, and even the land-based internet. Wow, what an Trojan horse platform that is.
The problem is, I see no indication WHY Apple (all manufactured in China), HTC, and even Samsung or dozen other brands aren't in a similar position of having some small backdoor tucked away in a chip that happens to be manufactured in china.
I've seen no technical analysis showing any such risk. Merely guilt by association - because these two companies are large contractors for the Chinese military.
Their phones aren't expensive. Go buy a couple hundred of them and hone the military's haxzor skills finding these backdoors or what ever they are worried about.
If its some other issue, like the long rumored Huawei theft of Cisco designs, then STATE that claim, rather than some nebulous risk posed by a generic tablet.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @07:45AM
The other thing is the US Government wants backdoors too. So maybe these discussions will be about China sharing their backdoors with the US Government? ;)
(Score: 2) by quietus on Monday May 14 2018, @12:31PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @09:49PM
"Chinese have been interfering with our companies and tricking them to hand over their IP for years"
yeah fucking right! Generation Whore was more than happy to sell out to the chinese. "fuck the US people" as long as they got their golden parachute. keep blaming the chinese while your ignorant kids aren't taught anything except how to be consumerist slaves in "school" while the chinese crank out trained professionals in various key fields.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:12PM (1 child)
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).
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @12:42AM
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.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by requerdanos on Monday May 14 2018, @12:58AM (2 children)
Just to clear up a misconception that many people seem to have.
Their business is creating, collecting, and deploying exploits against us, not protecting us from others who do.
I mean I see your point, and that would make sense if we were getting our money's worth out of our government, but no. Intelligence agencies and LEOs are the enemy when it comes to preventing/invading our privacy (and other, less formidable enemies, also exist). They do not have any intention of taking up an anti-exploit stance, now, or ever.
Of course, if you are worried about phantom Chinese exploits, arguably you might spend less time worrying about the exploits from the nation that is *actually* the world leader in the exploits-and-destroyer-of-security business. (Used to be known as "The land of the free," but that was overturned on a technicality.)
If every voter, right now, decided to never again vote for furthering the current system in the form of people with "Republican" ties or with "Democratic" ties, and choose only Independents, Libertarians, Greens, Loonies, Pirates, and what-have-you, then it may barely still be possible to reverse the trend--or it may be just over the line too late.
(Score: 3, Informative) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday May 14 2018, @04:37AM (1 child)
There is a division in the NSA that helps the US public to secure their boxen.
Consider for example SELinux; it came from the NSA.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday May 14 2018, @07:55AM
Yeah those people either cry or laugh themselves to sleep.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Monday May 14 2018, @01:37AM (1 child)
The problem is (officially) not backdoors in the phones - it's (officially) that the phones were sold to Iran / NK. That's not the case with Apple, Samsung, Huawei etc - those companies aren't (being caught when they are) selling to those regimes.
Yes, this is no doubt Realpolitik with ZTE a pawn in a larger game, but they put themselves on the board by selling to countries that the US has heavy trade sanctions against. Play the game, pay the price.
(Score: 1, Redundant) by arcz on Monday May 14 2018, @03:38AM
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Monday May 14 2018, @01:50AM
I guess I wasn't even considering the actual technical aspects of phones and backdoors and all of that. Just the move as a means to create some press and leverage of some sort. Maybe that was a little cynical.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:00PM (8 children)
> This is how you play the game.
> 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)
You play the game by creating chaos, panicking after some good results come out of said chaos, and pushing responsibility on others to fix the mess you just created? Wow, no wonder DJT is such a master player.
(Also, economy and government are not fucking games, you colossal asshole.)
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:10PM (1 child)
Yes. [wikipedia.org]
No? [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @04:43PM
Wrong game: The Game [wikipedia.org]
Though the outcome's the same. (We all lose.)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by requerdanos on Monday May 14 2018, @01:12AM (5 children)
If "the problem" is that previous leaders have been conservative and polite, and have been afraid to "screw up royally and colossally" and have therefore been too predictable...
Then DJT is, without a doubt, a solution. He ticks all three boxes--he's never been conservative, polite, nor afraid to screw up until he can't hear anything but the great sucking sound representing his choices and actions. He is masterfully able to cut through red tape because he has no way of knowing of what the consequences might be, nor any concept of whether they might be "bad".
If "the problem" is that leadership has been predictable and ineffective also because they are likely to be true to their core values instead of choosing at random in spite of them...
Then DJT is, without doubt, a solution. He knows what "core" means, and "value", but as a phrase, the two words are completely alien to him. He does not have positons or opinions, merely decisions that exist in the moment. He is masterfully impossible to predict and outmaneuver, because to do so his movements would have to be non-random. How could an adversary even *cope* with that level of guile?
There is *no question* that DJT is the ultimate master player.
There's a lot of question over whether he will be able to destroy the world as we know it through staggeringly unheard-of levels of ineptitude. But no question whether he's the master player.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Monday May 14 2018, @01:52AM (3 children)
Oh come on. All previous leaders have been more or less better at playing the crowd and puking up what people are comfortable hearing and going to sleep at night. But make no mistake, it's Real Politic all the way.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by requerdanos on Monday May 14 2018, @03:15AM
If DJT had this ability--I acknowledge that he doesn't and isn't likely to acquire it--he would still sleep restfully and soundly, untroubled by complicated thoughts of conscience.
Requires sustained thought over a nontrivial period of time, you see. Can't fret over something you don't remember!
He just absolutely does not have the weaknesses that skilled or principled leaders would have. The guy's practically unstoppable.
(Score: 3, Funny) by SanityCheck on Monday May 14 2018, @06:06PM (1 child)
I think a lot of the previous leaders came to a problem knowing what the solution ought to be. So they were never willing to listen to people who are working under them in those fields. Those people got tired and disillusioned with these types of clowns, and just stopped giving their own advice, knowing it would be ignored. Trump is the exact opposite, he comes to a situation he has no idea about the landscape nor any inkling of a solution, he only says he will work on it and get something done. He will listen, he will judge, and he will delegate because he does not bother coming up with his own solution. He is smart enough to decide who is effective either outright or through test. He will cleave the ineffective people from the controls at a whim, and after few rounds of this type of blood-letting you will begin to see results.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Monday May 14 2018, @11:57PM
Um, there is a case to be made for involuntary username modification, instead of mere comment modding. In this case, could we change SanityCheck to InsanityCheck?
Exampla Gratia: Trump cleaveth Michael Flynn, and replaces him with the more more insane John Bolton. Insanity? Check! Results? We've gone to Jared.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday May 15 2018, @06:02AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:34PM (1 child)
Some time the guy looking like he's doing the playing is actually being played.
Is President Xi dancing to Trump's pressure?
Is Trump dancing to President Xi's threats?
Is Trump appearing to dance so that President Xi can save face as he caves in to Trump.
Is President Xi appearing to knuckle under to Trump, so Trump can save face?
This issue has been so murky over two or three administrations that I doubt we know what's really going on.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday May 13 2018, @11:54PM
Diplomacy is going on. Nothing all that interesting unless you happen to be directly affected or like to watch this sort of interaction. Clinton would have done fine at this point, Bush II not so much, Obama would have been just as bad, and Trump appears to be doing fairly well. The Chinese are simply too good at diplomacy to not give all the tools you have to a skilled negotiator who also happens to be a ruthless bastard when dealing with them.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:36PM
Enjoy your Freedom, 'Murica.
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:46PM (5 children)
Given that ZTE is one of the largest producers of mobile phones in the world, hard to imagine that people with even a passing interest in electronics have literally never heard of them.
If you walk into almost any store that sells phones, probably almost anywhere in the world, you will see ZTE products on display (most likely, the cheapest phone the store will sell you is a ZTE phone).
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:55PM (2 children)
Well, I've heard of them, associated the brand with mobile phones (amusingly - and not really electronics other than that) but had no real idea that they were *this* large a company.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @12:42AM (1 child)
ZTE is not just a mobile phone manufacturer. They deal heavily in telecommunications infrastructure equipment as well, just like two other big names that used to be strongly associated with the mobile phone handset industry: Nokia and Ericsson, who are their main competitors in the telecom data centre. Both of them got out of the consumer handset business a long time ago. Nokia is just mooching off their brand which still has a good deal of recognition, but the main company in Finland no longer has anything directly to do with the phones that are being made under their name, not since the debacle with Microsoft several years ago. These days their big money is in telecom infrastructure (they bought off Lucent, so Bell Labs is now Nokia Bell Labs [bell-labs.com]). Ericsson used to be in the handset business many years ago: they even got into bed with Sony for a partnership that lasted well into the smartphone era, but some years ago they divested their holdings in that and now it's only Sony that's making phones. But Ericsson was always much more heavily into the telecom infrastructure equipment space, even then.
If ZTE is shut out of the American telecom data centre that kinda hurts them a lot more than not seeing their phones being sold in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Monday May 14 2018, @01:03AM
This is exactly what I meant though. While I had *heard* of the - I had no idea until this article just how large a company they were and how much of their products are used all through the country.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @10:55PM (1 child)
EE - I've literally never heard of them!
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Monday May 14 2018, @06:07PM
ZTE isn't the most famous company -- or even the second most famous. And neither is EE. But I haven't forgotten them. And I'm working very hard to make a deal that will be VERY FAIR!!!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by petecox on Monday May 14 2018, @01:38AM
Insist that every Chinese Android phone sold in the USA ship blob-free with an upstream Linux kernel and an open bootloader.
Maybe then other manufacturers, *cough* Samsung, will follow suit.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday May 14 2018, @04:33AM (4 children)
So they planted their own rubber trees.
Now they don't need to import latex anymore.
For the US to banninate the export of chips to the PRC is a crystal-clear warning that China would be totally fucked if it got into a war with us.
I expect they will solve that problem the same way they solved their rubber problem.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Funny) by Rivenaleem on Monday May 14 2018, @09:40AM (3 children)
By planting rubber trees? How's that going to get them access to chips?
(Score: 2) by tekk on Monday May 14 2018, @11:56AM (1 child)
Pretty sure that the point is that China didn't have access to rubber, so they planted rubber. If China doesn't have access to US chip designs, they'll make their own (they already manufacture them anyway and they've been designing their own chips for their own purposes for years.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @01:39PM
Pretty sure he was joking.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @08:29PM
You silly fool, they would be planting tortilla trees.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday May 14 2018, @03:35PM (1 child)
He obviously cares about jobs in China.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @06:09PM
He cares about appearing helpful, engaging, and helping Xi out. He must have tremendous rappor with Xi, just look how he got him to go along with disarming North Korea. At the same time the tweet highlights that China is having difficulty with the sanctions, and thus shows he has the upper hand and that Chinese need him to solve the problem they have no power in solving.