“US President Donald Trump has decided to suspend plans to impose sanctions on China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) over a massive cyber-espionage campaign in order not to derail a trade truce and meet with Xi Jinping again next spring.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Photo: Getty Images Source: Financial Times with reference to a number of high-ranking American officials
Details: According to the publication’s sources, the White House has delayed the introduction of sanctions against the Chinese intelligence agency and its contractors, who are believed to be involved in the hacking campaign against US telecommunications networks, known as “Salt TyphoonAccording to sources, this was done in order not to undermine the process of establishing relations between Washington and Beijing.
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Literally: “Several people said the thrust of U.S. policy toward Beijing right now is to ensure ‘stability.'”
Details: The decision to abandon sanctions for the “Salt Typhoon” campaign, in which hackers gained access to unencrypted conversations of high-ranking US officials, has caused disappointment among “hawks” in the US government. Critics say the president is sacrificing national security for trade deals.
The administration’s preparations for a high-level meeting to grant Nvidia licenses to export its advanced H200 chips to China are of additional concern to critics. At the same time, on the eve of the October summit with Xi Jinping, Trump considered the possibility of allowing the sale of even more powerful Blackwell chips, but advisers convinced him to abandon this step.
The White House has stepped up policy coordination on China in recent weeks, according to sources. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has been tasked with ensuring that line ministries refrain from actions that could threaten a diplomatic thaw.
Such a mandate came after an incident with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, who expressed surprise at the appearance of an internal White House memo on the Chinese corporation Alibaba. The document, which was based on declassified intelligence, claimed that the tech giant allegedly supports China’s military operations against the United States. Alibaba itself categorically rejects these accusations.
Officially, the Ministry of Finance and the White House do not comment on the suspension of sanctions against China’s MDB. However, a source familiar with the administration’s position said Trump remains committed to establishing mutually beneficial trade relations “without compromising national and economic security.”
Prehistory:
- The “Salt Typhoon” cyber espionage campaign is considered one of the most serious threats to America’s digital infrastructure.
- Earlier this year, Jake Sullivan, who served as national security adviser in the Joe Biden administration, called the operation “unique” in scope. According to him, Chinese intelligence not only gained access to the phones of high-ranking officials, but also penetrated all major telecommunications companies in the United States, having the ability to “select any phone for wiretapping.”
- Beijing denies the involvement of its Ministry of State Security in the hacking of American networks. Meanwhile, FT sources familiar with the situation say the US government and telecommunications companies have made very little progress in countering Salt Typhoon.