This is your Beijing Bytes: US-China Tech War Updates podcast.

Hey listeners, Ting here, and wow, the US-China tech war just went from cold to absolutely scorching these past two weeks. Let me walk you through what's been happening because it's wild.

So first up, China just publicly accused the NSA of hacking their National Time Service Center. Yeah, you heard that right, their time center. China's Ministry of State Security dropped this bombshell saying American intelligence has been breaking into their systems since 2022, stealing data and spying on staff through their smartphones. Now, why does a time center matter? Because accurate timekeeping isn't just about showing up on time for meetings. It's critical for everything from stock exchanges to power grids to satellite communications. Mess with that, and you could cascade chaos across entire sectors. The US embassy in Beijing didn't directly deny it but fired back saying China remains the most active cyber threat to American networks. Classic spy versus spy stuff.

But here's where it gets really interesting for the tech industry. A major new report from ITIF just revealed that export controls against Huawei completely backfired. Between 2021 and 2024, American companies like Intel, Qualcomm, and Teradyne lost over 33 billion dollars in sales to Huawei. That's billion with a B. Meanwhile, Huawei's global market share for telecom equipment actually grew from 29 percent in 2018 to 31 percent by 2024. The company launched HarmonyOS, which now has nearly a billion users and directly threatens Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows. They've even built chips that can substitute for Nvidia's H20, limiting Nvidia's global sales.

Now, amid all this cyber espionage drama and tech battles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News that US and Chinese officials reached a substantial framework for an agreement. This comes just days before Trump and Xi Jinping are set to meet in person. The deal could address everything from TikTok's sale to American investors, to rare earth mineral access, to soybean markets, and even fentanyl crackdowns. Trump had threatened to slap an additional 100 percent tariff on China, which would have brought total levies to 130 percent. That would have absolutely crushed toy prices, electronics, and basically everything imported from China.

China had been threatening to restrict rare earth exports, controlling 70 percent of mining and 90 percent of processing globally. But Bessent believes they'll delay that restriction for a year. Meanwhile, American soybean farmers who lost their entire Chinese market earlier this year when China stopped buying in retaliation might finally see relief.

The strategic implications here are massive. Both nations are realizing they can hurt each other, but they're also hurting themselves. Export controls helped Chinese companies innovate faster while weakening American firms globally. The cyber accusations show how vulnerable critical infrastructure really is on both sides.

Thanks so much for tuning in listeners. If you found this valuable, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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