A government report just out this morning paints a bleak picture of U.S./China trade relations, with allegations of rampant corporate espionage by Chinese interests here and wildly unfair trade terms for American goods over there.
In other words, it’s business as usual between the two.
The Associated Press reports within the past half-hour:
Chinese spying in America represents the greatest threat to U.S. technology, according to a congressional advisory panel report Thursday that recommended lawmakers consider financing counterintelligence efforts meant to stop China from stealing U.S. manufacturing expertise.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission also said in its annual report to Congress that small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers, which represent more than half the manufacturing jobs in America, “face the full brunt of China’s unfair trade practices, including currency manipulation and illegal subsidies for Chinese exports.”
Chinese officials deny any spying.
Expect this report to catch the attention of American politicians.
The report comes about a year before U.S. presidential and congressional elections, and candidates have been critical of what they see as China’s failure to live up to its responsibilities as an emerging superpower. China often is singled out for its flood of goods into the United States; for building a massive, secretive military; for abusing its citizens’ rights, and for befriending rogue nations to secure sources of energy.
Not to mention shipping toys here that can’t be given to any child who puts things in his mouth … meaning any child.
While earlier this year, Microsoft reported seeing some progress in how China polices software piracy, other U.S. companies have complained of labor shortages hampering their operations there.
With U.S. businesses such as Intel and Cisco continuing to invest heavily in China, these trade issues between the two countries promise to become ever more contentious.
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