KEEP AN EYE ON CHINA

The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday warned of continuing threats posed by the Chinese government to telecommunications systems and other critical technologies ahead of a major international summit.

Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to use this week’s Organization for Economic Co-operation and Defense (OECD) ministerial meeting to work with other democratic nations to establish rules of the road around developing technologies, particularly to counter Chinese efforts in this area. Blinken is set to speak at the meeting.

“I urge you to use the OECD’s upcoming ministerial meeting on October 5-6, 2021 to work to establish rules and norms around strategic technology issues, including development and governance strategies and best practices for communications applications, AI-enabled products and services, next-generation networks, Internet of Things devices, blockchain and fintech products, and renewable energies,” Warner wrote to Blinken.

Warner criticized the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) use of telecommunications company Huawei and its promotion of the firm as a “national champion” in the 5G technology and standards space.