print subtext to President Donald Trump's trade confrontation with China which has now suddenly been writ large. There had long been a strong conviction that Chinese firms were, almost certainly with some level of state-support, managing to plunder the technological secrets of other advanced economies, most particularly those of the United States. The formal Beijing-Washington trade talks include the protection of intellectual property. Chinese courts need to do a better job of enforcing international laws, including World Trade Organization rules, to which, as a member, China is subject. Only rarely have the country's judges accepted that a foreign company's copyright has been stolen or, put more politely, infringed. It is believed that, with official encouragement, there has been a wholesale plunder of technology secrets from rivals, much of it conducted by raids on commercial, government and academic computer systems around the world. This week Washington took the gloves off. And it is probably significant that the first punch has been aimed at the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, a market leader in the new 5G technology which was in pole position to supply, at highly competitive prices, much of the global infrastructure for the new communications systems. A total of 23 charges have been laid in the US against Huawei, including accusations of bank fraud, the theft of technology and the busting of international sanctions imposed on Iran. FBI director Christopher Wray said the indictments have laid bare "Huawei's alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices" adding that these activities posed a threat both to the US economy and its national security. Beijing was quick to deny angrily any wrongdoing. But the timing of the American move is surely significant. The charges were revealed as a team of Chinese negotiators was flying to Washington for the next round of talks designed to ward off further tit-for-tat import duties being imposed by the two countries. The US also confirmed that it would be applying for the extradition from Canada of Huawei's chief financial officer to answer fraud and Iran sanctions-busting charges. While changing planes in Vancouver, Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei was detained last month on a US-issued international warrant. One of the key concerns about the use of Huawei technology in new generation communications around the world is that the equipment could contain secret "back doors" that Chinese intelligence could use to monitor traffic. Moreover, in the event of military confrontation, these would actually permit the shutdown of the entire communications system in hostile countries. The Europeans are now among a growing list of states warning local telecoms providers against the use of Huawei technology. It seems sensible to believe these governments are not simply following the American lead but have established their own reasons to be suspicious of this company. Nevertheless, this development is somewhat ironic given that EU leaders, with their deep distaste for President Trump, are trying to defy his new sanctions on Iran and have generally deplored his trade confrontation with Beijing. But, of course, as and when China chooses to stick to the rules and Trump has done all the heavy lifting, they will not hesitate to benefit from the more level playing field that he will have created.
