Crypto News: Curbing China

The clampdown by US President Joe Biden's administration on exports of advanced technology to China has upset the companies that produce it, ruffled allies and brought howls of protest from Beijing.

But what if it's still not enough to hobble Chinese leader Xi Jinping's progress?

In testimony to the House Armed Services Committee in Washington yesterday, senior US defense officials painted a dramatic picture of China's growing military and technological power.

China is already ahead in the field of hypersonic weapons, with Admiral John Aquilino, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command, citing concerns at "the pace, the speed and the advanced capabilities" it is demonstrating.

Others pointed to Beijing's rapid development of biotechnology that could be applied to biological and chemical weapons.

The assessments were all the more striking since restricting access to China's military-industrial base was the very reason Washington cited for the expanded use of export controls on semiconductor technology announced last year.

Since then, concerns by Western nations and their allies about China's military capabilities have only increased as Beijing has moved closer to Russia, refusing to denounce President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine while saber rattling over Taiwan. After Xi visited Putin in March, their respective defense ministers agreed to expand cooperation yesterday.

Yet, as Alberto Nardelli exclusively reports, so close have they become that senior Russian officials worry about the risks of growing too dependent on Chinese technology after Western sanctions cut off access to alternatives.

Back in September, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that advancements in science and technology "are poised to define the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century" and that export controls "can be a new strategic asset" to impose costs on adversaries.

Given there's plainly work to be done from a US perspective, expect more such curbs to come. — Alan Crawford

Medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicles at an Oct. 1, 2019 military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Republic. Photographer: Zoya Rusinova/TASS/Getty Images

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Biden's national security advisor spoke to his Brazilian counterpart yesterday after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused America of "encouraging war" while on a visit to China. Jake Sullivan and Celso Amorim "discussed a number of bilateral and global issues, including Russia's war against Ukraine," according to a White House statement.

Lula sent congress a proposal to shore up Brazil's public finances after ordering a change that added uncertainty over the government's ability to boost its revenues.

The top US Republican challenger to Donald Trump's reelection bid has a plan: to outmaneuver him by pushing Florida — and the rest of the party — further to the right than ever. Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida's GOP-controlled legislature in just 42 days have banned abortion after six weeks, eased already relaxed gun laws and helped shield insurance companies from lawsuits, and some Republicans worry they've gone too far.

Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a voting machine maker's defamation lawsuit over the network's 2020 election broadcasts, striking a deal on the brink of a potentially embarrassing trial.

For decades, London was the main nexus of European finance, but two years after Brexit became a reality there's been a clear shift across the Channel. While the spoils are being shared by European Union cities including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dublin, Milan, Madrid and Warsaw, if anywhere can claim to be the bloc's new pre-eminent hub, it's Paris.

Airstrikes rocked Sudan's capital, Khartoum, as a proposed cease-fire to halt four days of fighting between the army and a paramilitary group failed to hold. Heavy battles that erupted on April 15 have left more than 180 people dead and sparked fears of a full-blown civil war.

A historic strike will take place in Canada today as more than 155,000 federal workers walk out after wage talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government failed. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the biggest federal civil-service union, said it will be the country's largest industrial action ever.

North Korea ordered the launch of a military spy satellite, a move that could allow Kim Jong Un to keep an eye on US allies as well as advance his state's ability to deliver a nuclear warhead to the American mainland. Kim said possessing military reconnaissance satellites would play a crucial role in ensuring Pyongyang's sovereignty and right to self-defense.

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India has overtaken China as the world's most populous nation, the United Nations said today.
A complaint by two congressional Democrats regarding possible ethics violations by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been forwarded to a federal judicial panel that enforces financial disclosure rules.
Russia-aligned hackers are attempting to damage or destroy the UK's critical national infrastructure, a top British government official is expected to warn today.
Zambia's official creditors, co-led by China, made progress toward a long-awaited debt-restructuring deal yesterday and will meet again next month, sources say.
Tunisia's president vowed a "relentless war" against opponents, signaling a possible escalation in his crackdown shortly after the detention of his most vocal critic.

And finally … Soaring temperatures across India this week are increasing the risk of blackouts and potentially exposing millions of people to exhaustion and deadly heat stroke. A majority of India's 1.4 billion population work outdoors, often without protection, with many construction workers, hawkers and rickshaw drivers succumbing to the hot weather in summer. India suffers from the most pronounced heat-related labor losses in the world.