Tag: Government Contracts and Procurement

The Chinese Company That Could Start a Trade War With Europe

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On a brisk April morning in 2024, investigators raided two European offices of Nuctech, a Chinese security equipment company with a vast global footprint. The officials from the European Union seized laptops, confiscated employees’ mobile phones and sifted through documents. They were searching for evidence that the state-backed company, once led by the son of China’s former president Hu Jintao, had gained an unfair advantage while competing to install X-ray scanners and explosive detection systems at border checkpoints in more than two dozen European countries. Nuctech’s footprint is wide. Its…

Dismissals Point to Xi JInping’s Quiet Shake-Up of China’s Military

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The expelled officials included some of the brightest rising stars in President Xi Jinping’s military: two generals who oversaw satellite launches and manned space missions; an admiral who helped entrench Beijing’s presence in the disputed South China Sea; and a missile commander who had honed China’s ability to respond to a possible nuclear war. They were among nine high-ranking Chinese military figures who were recently removed as delegates to the country’s Communist Party-run legislature, abruptly and without official explanation. Experts say the move indicates that Mr. Xi’s latest offensive to…

Pentagon Vows to Move Quickly to Buy More Drones, Citing China Threat

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The Pentagon announced on Monday that it would buy thousands of unmanned drones and other autonomous devices over the next two years, adding that it had been far too slow to embrace new technology that is “small, smart, cheap” and that could bolster the U.S. military as it prepares for possible future conflict with China. The commitment came from Kathleen Hicks, the deputy defense secretary. She said in a speech at a gathering of military contractors that the Pentagon would soon change how it buys the kind of autonomous devices…