It traces the origin of the venture as well as the internal conflicts that nearly derailed it. The account identifies the CIA officers who ran the program and the company executives entrusted to execute it. The ruling party wants foreign companies in electric cars and other fields to bring in technology and provide competition to force Chinese companies to improve.The decades-long arrangement, among the most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War, is laid bare in a classified, comprehensive CIA history of the operation obtained by The Washington Post and ZDF, a German public broadcaster, in a joint reporting project. The crackdowns paint a jarring backdrop for official efforts to reverse a decline in foreign business interest in China. It remains unclear how national security is defined.įoreign companies and government agencies have for years advised employees visiting China not to carry computers or mobile phones with confidential information because they might be seized by authorities or stolen by industrial spies. The law covers all “documents, data, materials and items related to national security,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency. ![]() Foreign firms already face hurdles in executive travel to China, along with the possibility of exit bans, theft of commercial secrets and Chinese government interference in deal-making.Ĭhanges to the espionage law give authorities powers to gain access to electronic information. Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, is in the midst of multiple campaigns to tighten the ruling Communist Party’s control over entrepreneurs, root out official corruption and reduce reliance on foreign technology and expertise. The spokesperson gave no further details. “This is a normal law enforcement action in accordance with Chinese law, aiming to promote the regulated and sound development of the industry and safeguard national security and development interests,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing Tuesday. “Some domestic consulting companies have weak awareness of national security and seek to benefit financially by straddling the legal barriers,” the CCTV report said.Īsked about the recent actions against Capvision and other companies, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China’s national security authorities and other “competent departments” have recently been carrying out “open law enforcement on relevant enterprises in accordance with the law.” The report alleged domestic consulting companies were tools of stealing such secrets. “Over recent years, in order to realize the strategy of containing and and suppressing China, certain Western countries have become increasingly rampant in stealing intelligence and information pertaining to our country’s military industry, economy and finance,” state broadcaster CCTV said Monday. There was no word on arrests or detentions, although the reports said investigations had been opened into the company and “personnel involved in the case according to law.”Ģ024 Republican hopefuls rush to defend Marine who put NYC subway rider in fatal chokehold Officers from the Ministry of State Security, police and market regulatory bodies questioned staff, the reports said. Investigators simultaneously visited Capvision branches in Beijing, Shanghai, and the southeastern manufacturing hubs of Suzhou and Shenzhen, along with other locations the state media reports did not identify. ![]() ![]() BEIJING (AP) - China’s chief foreign intelligence agency has raided the offices of business consulting firm Capvision in Beijing and other Chinese cities as part of an ongoing crackdown on foreign businesses that provide sensitive economic data.įoreign companies operating in China have come under increasing pressure, driven primarily by national security considerations, as Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back foreign investors after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.
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