China’s New Attempt to Subvert U.S. Sanctions | China’s Extensive Spying Operations | Breaching China’s Great Digital Firewall, and more

The “Blocking Statute”: China’s New Attempt to Subvert U.S. Sanctions  (David Mortlock, New Atlanticist)
China has deployed a potentially potent new tool in its rivalry with the United States. It comes in the form of a “blocking statute” that Beijing recently issued to stymie US efforts to steer Chinese and other companies away from doing business with countries and actors sanctioned by the United States. China’s move may foretell a new point of contention in the relationship between the two world powers, following a recent expansion of US sanctions against Chinese companies and corresponding efforts by China to push back.
China is not the first foreign government to toy with sanctions-evasion tools, nor is this even its first attempt. China and others have already explored the possibility of dodging US sanctions by moving away from the US dollar as the global exchange currency, which is easier said than done. Russia, meanwhile, has deployed counter-sanctions like those levied against imports of European cheese. And ships have turned off their transponders to avoid detection when transporting Iranian, Venezuelan, or Syrian products. Indeed, the Chinese blocking statute appears to emulate a European Union (EU) blocking statute that has been in place since 1996 in response to what the EU sees as “extraterritorial” US sanctions on Iran and Cuba.
None of these efforts appears to have had a material effect on Washington’s ability to use economic levers to impose costs on malicious activity or create leverage for negotiations. China’s newly unveiled blocking statute, however, could inflict some new costs.

Hong Kong Can’t Be Saved. Hong Kongers Can.  (Doug Bandow, Foreign Policy)
A once great city is now another appendage of dictatorship.

Huawei Fallout—Another Serious New China Threat Strikes at Samsung And Apple  (Zak Doffman, Forbes)
The fallout from the battle between the U.S. and Huawei will reshape the smartphone industry this year—and China could well get more influence than it has ever enjoyed before. The downside risks from America blacklisting one of the world’s largest smartphone makers are now becoming much more serious and much more real.
Now it gets interesting. Unsurprisingly, the lobbying and peacock politics are in full swing as the world waits to see where the new Biden administration will land on Huawei. This battle came to symbolize the tech war between Trump and Beijing. Now Biden’s team need to unpick the differences between security-focused restrictions on 5G equipment sales and a punitive stranglehold on a consumer smartphone business.

China Turns Semiconductors into the ‘New Oil’ While GM Runs out of Chips  (Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes)
If it’s not compared to gold (Bitcoin) or oil (solar) then it’s probably not worthy. The “new oil” in the tech world is semiconductors. China’s “Greater Bay Area” is where all the new drilling will happen. Right now, it’s where the demand is coming from in a world facing chip shortages for car makers.
About two years ago, the Chinese government released its latest strategy to compete with the Western world, namely the U.S. The name “Greater Bay Area” alone strikes many China chords — it’s their old school copy cat style in mimicking the Bay Area of San Francisco, and more importantly, it’s a challenge to Palo Alto. China isn’t going to just compete with the Bay Area of California. It’s going to be greater than than the Bay Area of California.

America’s Dependence on China for Essential Medicines a Growing Safety Threat(Rosemary Gibson, The Reporter)
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed many American lives. Millions are still out of work. This is the public toll of the virus. However, the disruption caused by the pandemic now runs deeper — and threatens the safety of America’s daily drug needs.