Tag: Europe

China’s Nuctech raided in EU over foreign subsidies concerns

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BRUSSELS —  Chinese security equipment company Nuctech’s Dutch and Polish offices were raided by EU competition regulators, the company said on Wednesday, as the European Commission cracks down on companies receiving unfair state subsidies which put EU peers at a disadvantage. The European Commission has launched four investigations against Chinese companies since its foreign subsidies regulation introduced in July 2023 allowed the executive to assess whether subsidies allowed companies to submit overly advantageous offers in procurement tenders to edge out EU rivals. “Nuctech offices in the Netherlands and Poland are…

Why is US threatening to ban TikTok and will other countries follow suit?

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Joe Biden has signed into law a bill that requires TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the social media app’s US operations or face a ban, after the Senate passed the legislation. The law, part of a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sets the clock ticking on a potential ban for a platform that is hugely popular in the US. Here is a guide to the TikTok legislation and what may happen next. How does the legislation pave the way for a sale or ban? The bill gives…

AfD politician to run in European elections despite aide’s alleged spying for China

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A far-right German politician has said he will continue to run for the upcoming European parliamentary elections despite allegations that his adviser was spying for the Chinese government. Maximilian Krah, who is the lead contender for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, told journalists in Berlin: “I am and will remain the main candidate” after an emergency meeting with party bosses on Wednesday morning after the allegations came to light. Krah, a jurist and Catholic, said he regretted that the affair would “overshadow terribly” the June election but said he…

EU launches investigation into Chinese medical device market

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The European Commission launched a probe into China’s public procurement of medical devices on Wednesday, the latest in a series of moves that ratchet up trade tensions ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe next month. The investigation – which Beijing swiftly criticized – is meant to determine if European suppliers of devices ranging from needles and orthopedic appliances to complex scanners have been granted fair access in China. If it concludes that they have not, it could lead to the bloc placing restrictions on Chinese medical device companies…

UK ‘helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine’ via loophole on refined oil imports

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The UK has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels. Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, the same record value as the previous year, up from £434.2m in 2021. Russia is the largest crude oil supplier to India and China, while Turkey has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil…

German prosecutors accuse aide to European lawmaker of spying for China

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German prosecutors said Tuesday that an aide to a German lawmaker in the European Parliament had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Prosecutors identified the man only as Jian G., in line with German privacy laws, and said he repeatedly passed information about European Parliament negotiations to a Chinese intelligence service. The man also spied on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, prosecutors said. China’s foreign ministry said Tuesday the allegation is an attempt to “smear and suppress China and to destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and…

AfD politician’s aide arrested on suspicion of spying for China

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An aide to a German far-right politician standing in the European elections in June has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors have said. The man, named only as Jian G, was accused of sharing information about negotiations at the European parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said. The suspect was arrested on Monday night, hours after three German nationals were arrested on suspicion of working with China’s ministry of state security to hand over technology…

Three German citizens arrested on suspicion of spying for China

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Three German citizens, a married couple from Düsseldorf and a man from Bad Homburg, have been arrested on suspicion of spying on behalf of China, prosecutors have said, in the second high-profile alleged espionage case reported in the country in days. The three are accused of passing on technical military knowhow to Chinese authorities in return for money. The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said it could be “just the tip of the iceberg” of spy rings operating in Germany. In one case, prosecutors allege, the trio exported a…

UK police charge two men with spying for China

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LONDON —  British police on Monday charged two men with spying for China, including one reported to have worked as a researcher in Britain’s parliament for a prominent lawmaker in the governing Conservative Party. Anxiety has mounted across Europe about China’s alleged espionage activity and Britain has become increasingly vocal about its concerns in recent months. The two men, aged 32 and 29, were charged with providing prejudicial information to China in breach of the Official Secrets Act, and will appear in court Friday. “This has been an extremely complex…

Global defence budget jumps to record high of $2440bn

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Global military expenditure has reached a record high of $2440bn (£1970bn) after the largest annual rise in government spending on arms in over a decade, according to a report. The 6.8% increase between 2022 and 2023 was the steepest since 2009, pushing spending to the highest recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in its 60-year history. For the first time, analysts at the thinktank recorded a rise in military outlay in all five geographical regions: Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania and the Americas. Nan…