U.S. Faces ‘Unprecedented Threat’ From China on Tech Takeover
U.S. Faces ‘Unprecedented Threat’ From China on Tech
Takeover
U.S. intelligence sees it as ‘flagship’ for U.S. tech
access
National intelligence director outlines threat to
lawmakers
By Anthony Capaccio June 21, 2018, 9:06 PM PDT
China’s “Thousand Talents” program to tap into its
citizens educated or employed in the U.S. is a key part of multi-pronged
efforts to transfer, replicate and eventually overtake U.S. military and
commercial technology, according to American intelligence officials.
The program, begun in 2008, is far from secret. But its
unadvertised goal is “to facilitate the legal and illicit transfer of U.S.
technology, intellectual property and know-how” to China, according to an
unclassified analysis by the National Intelligence Council, the branch of U.S.
intelligence that assesses long-term trends.
The program was highlighted Thursday to House Armed
Services Committee members as Pentagon and intelligence officials outlined what
they said was an aggressive, 10-part Chinese “toolkit for foreign technology
acquisition.”
The National Intelligence Council’s analysis, produced in
April, described the Thousand Talents Plan as “China’s flagship talent program
and probably the largest in terms of funding.” The program also was cited in a
combative White House report posted Tuesday titled “How China’s Economic
Aggression Threatens the Technologies and Intellectual Property of the United
States and the World.”
Breakdown of Recruits
The assessment discussed Thursday numbered the current of
pool Thousand Talents recruits at 2,629 -- 44 percent of whom specialize in
medicine, life or health sciences, 22 percent in applied industrial
technologies, 8 percent in computer sciences and 6 percent each in
aviation/aerospace and astronomy. Smaller percentages possessed U.S.-garnered
expertise in economics, finance and mathematics.
American military and intelligence officials have long
warned that China threatens the nation’s security as well as its economy. The
warnings have escalated under President Donald Trump, whose moves to impose
tariffs on China and Beijing’s counter-moves have heightened fears of a trade
war.
The U.S. still is seeking a level of cooperation with
China, including its help in maintaining sanctions to pressure North Korea to
dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said
Wednesday that he’s traveling to China next week.
‘Unprecedented Threat’
The Pentagon “is facing an unprecedented threat to its
technological and industrial base,” as the U.S.’s “open society” has “offered
China and others access to the same technology and information that is crucial
to the success of our future war-fighting capabilities,” Michael Griffin, under
secretary for research and engineering, testified at Thursday’s hearing.
“We have seen the Chinese target top talent in American
universities and research labs of the private sector, including defense
contractors and the U.S. government,” he said. The solution must include
strengthening American counterintelligence capabilities and elevating the
private sector’s focus on security, he added.
Tony Schinella, the national intelligence officer for
military issues, testified that in addition to using the Thousand Talents
program, “Beijing also has employed Western-trained returnees to implement
important changes in its science, engineering, and math curricula that foster
greater creativity and applied skills at China’s top-tier universities.”
Another tool to gain access to U.S. technology is “joint
ventures, mergers, and acquisitions,” he said. “Tech transfer to China is
occurring in part through increased levels in investment and acquisitions of
U.S. companies, which hit a record level in 2016 before dropping somewhat in
2017 and again in the first half of 2018.”
China’s aggregate investment in American technology over
the past decade, from 2007 to 2017, totaled approximately $40 billion and was
about $5.3 billion last year, he said.
Comments
Post a Comment