President Donald Trump’s administration has boosted its efforts to target China over economic espionage and has announced a new initiative to combat trade theft and charges involving alleged crimes against an Idaho semiconductor company, CNN informs.
Namely, on Thursday, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment which says that a Chinese company with state backing committed conspiracy to steal trade secrets from chipmaker Micron, along with another Taiwanese firm and three Taiwanese individuals.
“Chinese economic espionage against the United States has been increasing — and it has been increasing rapidly. We are here today to say, ‘enough is enough’. We’re not going to take it anymore,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions at a press conference.
Sessions’ comments came at a time when President Trump spoke to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the first time in months, to discuss the rising trade tensions and the ongoing efforts to smooth relations with North Korea. Trump described the telephone conversation as “long and very good,” tweeting that the “discussions are moving along nicely.”
He added that meetings are “being scheduled at the G20 in Argentina,” indicating there may be a possible meeting with Xi in Buenos Aires this month, although such an encounter is highly unlikely to stop U.S. efforts to crack down on alleged theft of technology by Beijing. In October alone, the DOJ issued three broad indictments against Chinese intelligence agents.
The individuals, CNN writes, formerly worked for Micron before transferring to United Microelectronics Corporation in Taiwan where they are believed to have orchestrated stealing trade secrets from their previous employer. The Taiwanese company partnered with Chinese Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. to share technology, the indictment alleged.
The DOJ move was welcomed by Micron, which said it had “invested billions of dollars over decades to develop its intellectual property” and the decision to prosecute those attempting its theft was proof that “criminal misappropriation will be appropriately addressed.”
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