Illiberal regimes use a wide range of tools to undermine democratic institutions, prevent criticism, and establish norms and standards favorable to autocratic rule. In the case of digital information technology, these efforts go beyond shaping norms to controlling the infrastructure that transmits information itself.
Japan has signed a post-Brexit bilateral trade deal with the United Kingdom that will allow Japan to support the UK's 5G network development, following a ban on 5G equipment from Chinese supplier Huawei in July.
On September 29, CSIS hosted an online discussion of Jonathan Hillman's new book on China's Belt and Road Initiative, The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century, moderated by Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian.
The U.S. Department of Justice has requested permission from a federal judge to ban the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat due to national security concerns, Nikkei reports.
This report examines Chinese economic activities in Serbia to shed light on China’s political and economic objectives, its mechanisms for influence, and the implications of its activities, including a second wave of digital infrastructure projects.
Cambodia has announced plans to instate a China-style internet gateway which activists fear could allow the government to block critical content, Nikkei reports.
Taiwan has issued a joint declaration with the U.S. announcing its participation in the "Clean Network" initiative to block Chinese technology companies like Huawei from supplying its 5G networks, Nikkei reports.
Thailand's largest mobile operator has set aside $1.4 billion for 5G infrastructure in the country's Eastern Economic Corridor, a signature government initiative expected to diversify and drive the nation's economy in the years ahead.
Major Chinese telecom companies including Huawei and ZTE have slowed their rollout of 5G base stations in China as U.S. regulations force Chinese telecom companies out of the U.S. supply chains.
Dito, the China Telecom-supported and Huawei-supplied company poised to break up the Philippines telecom duopoly, has had their operation date delayed to January 2021 by the Covid-19 pandemic, as only a quarter of its planned towers have been built, Nikkei reports.
China's Huawei Technologies on Monday urged global carriers to continue buying its networking gear to "stay ahead in the 5G race," in response to political pressure from the U.S., UK, France, and Singapore to drop the carrier due to national security concerns, Nikkei reports.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are attempting to put economics at the center of their strategic partnership, but a closer look at four dimensions of China-Russia connectivity reveals a partnership of unequals that will become even more lopsided in the future.
The UK government announced it will ban the purchase of new 5G equipment from the Chinese technology company Huawei as of Dec. 31 this year and remove all Huawei devices from the country's 5G networks by 2027, Nikkei reports.
The U.K. is on a path to gradually eliminate telecommunications equipment supplied by Huawei Technologies from its ultrafast 5G networks, reversing an earlier decision to allow the Chinese company to take part, Nikkei reports.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday formally designated China's Huawei and ZTE as threats to U.S. national security, a declaration that bars U.S. firms from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from the companies, Nikkei reports.
India has banned 59 Chinese mobile apps citing national security concerns following reports that the apps were illegally transmitting user data to servers outside of India, Nikkei reports.
After meeting with Chinese diplomats in Hawaii, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that "the tide is turning" against Huawei Technologies as some countries, mainly in Europe, are choosing to exclude the Chinese company from their 5G infrastructure, Nikkei reports.
Japanese telecommunications group NTT announced Thursday that it will invest 64.5 billion yen in IT services group NEC to launch what both companies called a "made-in-Japan" alliance in 5G technology, Nikkei reports.
The Chinese government is expected to endorse a new cryptocurrency backed by a basket of Asian currencies including the digital yuan, marking a new stage in international competition over digital currency adoption, Nikkei reports.
The U.S. Commerce Department announced in May that it will require companies using U.S. technology to supply Huawei or its affiliates to apply for a license, driving U.S. and Chinese technology supply chains further apart and complicating business for the U.S. semiconductor industry, Nikkei reports.
As China emerges as the new dominant trading nation, overcoming the barriers to a free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, the world's largest and fifth-largest economies, could balance China’s rise and infuse the digital future with democratic standards.
Malaysia will have to wait another year before it can roll out 5G services after spectrum allocations were nullified for being in direct conflict with an open and transparent tender process, Nikkei Reports.
As fifth-generation wireless networks start to go mainstream, competition to develop 6G has begun, with South Korea's Samsung Electronics and China's Huawei Technologies at the forefront, Nikkei reports.
In competing with China, the United States and its democratic allies should place the free flow of data and an open global digital economy at the heart of their strategy.
Xi Jinping announced at this year's National People's Congress that China will maintain a focus on high tech development in areas such as aerospace and semiconductor manufacture, as well as bolstering their 5G telecommunications infrastructure, Nikkei reports.
Thailand is leading ASEAN in the provision of 5G services after increased demand for telemedicine, teleworking, and faster internet speeds in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led the country's telecommunications companies to expedite their 5G rollout plans.
South Korean conglomerate Samsung is seeking increased cooperation with Huawei on key technology despite U.S. restrictions and security concerns surrounding the Chinese firm, Nikkei reports.
Major developments, including the Covid-19 pandemic and China’s acceleration of its digital infrastructure push, have heightened the stakes of the global infrastructure challenge for U.S. interests and the necessity of fashioning not merely a response, but its own strategy.
The rollout of 5G services in Japan, originally planned in March, have been hampered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nikkei reports.
In response to economic blacklisting by the U.S. government, Huawei has found alternatives to U.S. sources for many of its technology components and has shifted its supply chains to be more dependent on China, Nikkei reports.
Starting in June, public infrastructure operators in China will undergo a cybersecurity review which could exclude foreign companies from supplying IT equipment, Nikkei reports.
As other countries postpone 5G implementation due to coronavirus, China is closing in on 70 percent of global 5G smartphone contracts, Nikkei reports.
As global data usage is expected to balloon with the spread of 5G communications, China is stepping up its efforts to provide related technology to Japanese markets, Nikkei reports.
The COVID-19 crisis has become an opportunity for China to quickly test of 5G applications, spurring both public and private sector investment in 5G infrastructure in 2020 to five times the 2019 level, Nikkei reports.
To spur economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession, China has accelerated investment efforts in its infrastructure, technology, and manufacturing sectors, Nikkei reports.
How Facebook collaborates and conflicts with India's government on privacy, security, and misinformation will have long-lasting implications for the country's internet, Nikkei reports.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the acceleration of China's digital infrastructure push have heightened the necessity of developing a comprehensive U.S. infrastructure strategy. The U.S. has taken several important steps toward fashioning its own positive vision for global infrastructure, but critical work remains.
The need for greater digital connectivity will be at the forefront of many nations’ agendas following the Covid-19 pandemic. In the U.S., deliberations are underway about a $2 trillion infrastructure program that, if well-designed, could provide a once-in-a-century opportunity for the U.S. to reaffirm its global leadership in the digital infrastructure of the future.
Chinese electronics company Xiaomi is gaining market share in India and Europe and plans to seek up to $1 billion in international bonds and grow its business in 5G, AI, and internet of things (IoT) technology, Nikkei reports.
Chinese technology giant Alibaba has announced plans to invest $28 billion in cloud infrastructure in response to a growing demand for business software, Nikkei reports.
A proposed partnership between the United Nations and leading Chinese Tech company Tencent has raised some concerns about China's uses and exports of surveillance technology and it's potential impacts on international human rights standards, Nikkei reports.
China’s technology ambitions appeared imperiled by Covid-19, but the pandemic is already providing new opportunities for China’s rise as a technology power and global provider of digital infrastructure.
Beijing’s willingness to start new international institutions underscores its global ambitions and adds weight to its rhetoric about creating an alternative order, but it would be a mistake to exaggerate their current scale and effectiveness.
China has overtaken the U.S.' four-decade streak in filings. Computer tech and digital communication fields accounted for the largest share of filings, with Huawei as the leading corporate filer, Nikkei reports.
Some Chinese technology companies and their owners have seen their wealth increase significantly amidst the coronavirus outbreak due to increased demand, Nikkei reports.
Germany is preparing to take stakes in or buy out domestic companies in a weakened financial situation due to COVID-19 to prevent opportunistic acquisitions by Chinese firms which could jeopardize Germany's future competitiveness, Nikkei reports.
As the U.S. considers tightening export controls on Huawei, the company warned that such action could trigger a similar response against U.S. companies by the Chinese government, Nikkei reports.
China's three largest mobile telecom companies, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, are reluctant to expand their investments in building out 5G capability as economic growth stalls, Nikkei reports.
Chinese president Xi Jinping is set to increase spending on crucial infrastructure including 5G network deployment and data center construction to help the economy recover from the impact of COVID-19, Nikkei reports.
China Mobile, the world's largest mobile services provider, said that it will spend $14 billion on the rollout of 5G services, including the construction of 250,000 5G base stations. The move forward continues despite delays and revenue losses due to the coronavirus, Nikkei reports.