{"text":[[{"start":8,"text":"Since Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in South Korea in October, the US government has largely taken a less aggressive stance towards Beijing to avoid derailing the trade war ceasefire the leaders struck at the summit."}],[{"start":22.25,"text":"But as Trump and Xi prepare to meet in Beijing this week, one agency has been quietly taking action on security threats from China that impact US consumers — the Federal Communications Commission."}],[{"start":33.5,"text":"FCC chair Brendan Carr has in recent months spearheaded measures to reduce Beijing’s espionage and security threats, including by blocking Chinese companies from selling drones and internet routers in the US. "}],[{"start":46.95,"text":"Last month, the agency voted to proceed with a proposal to ban Chinese labs from carrying out tests for consumer electronics — everything from baby monitors to phones — as part of the process required to obtain FCC certification for sale in the US."}],[{"start":62.300000000000004,"text":"While the ban on drones and routers has big implications given Chinese suppliers’ foothold in the US, Donald Trump’s administration is also debating whether to ban Chinese “cellular modules”, said people familiar with the matter. That would have a more dramatic impact because they are essential to connecting smart electronic devices to the internet."}],[{"start":83.05000000000001,"text":"Charles Parton, a retired UK diplomat who is an expert on modules, said Chinese groups — including Quectel, Fibocom, China Mobile, Sunsea and MeiG — have more than 70 per cent of the global market. The concerns are particularly acute because the companies must periodically update the software, a process that provides possible ways to engage in espionage or surveillance."}],[{"start":107.85000000000001,"text":"The US House China committee has also focused on the threat from modules. Testifying before the panel in December, Parton warned: “If you think rare earth is a bad dependency to have on China, wait until you are dependent on the cellular modules. It is much, much worse.”"}],[{"start":124.55000000000001,"text":"Carr created a national security council last year to tackle “persistent and constant threat from foreign adversaries, particularly the Chinese Communist Party”. He recently said the focus was not country specific and included non-state actors — an approach that has helped the FCC take actions against China and avoid scrutiny. "}],[{"start":143.15,"text":"“The FCC is somewhat off the radar, and the president isn’t that focused on technology security issues. This gives Brendan Carr runway to move on China issues,” said Liza Tobin, a security expert at the Center for New American Security think-tank, who served on the National Security Council during the first Trump administration and Joe Biden’s presidency. "}],[{"start":164.05,"text":"People familiar with the situation said Carr also has more leeway than some other officials because Trump appreciates the more assertive approach he has taken to regulating US airwaves and pushing back against what the FCC chair also describes as the “fake news media”."}],[{"start":180.3,"text":"After Trump’s October summit with Xi, the US president told officials to avoid actions that would hurt the truce. Examples of agencies holding fire include the commerce department not introducing big export controls against China. The Treasury also halted plans to sanction Chinese intelligence over Salt Typhoon, a massive cyber espionage campaign that allows Beijing to intercept the unencrypted communications of Americans."}],[{"start":205.45000000000002,"text":"In some cases, the FCC is addressing threats that have existed for years but have become more urgent with advances in technology and as Washington increasingly views China as an adversary. In the case of so-called “bad labs”, 75 per cent of the testing for the 40,000 devices that the FCC certifies annually is conducted in China."}],[{"start":227.25000000000003,"text":"“The idea that the US sends its most sensitive technology, to be tested for security and safety concerns, to foreign adversary countries, is very problematic for many reasons,” one FCC official said."}],[{"start":240.95000000000002,"text":"The official added the concerns included the trustworthiness of the labs, the possibility of tampering with products, IP theft and supply chain bottlenecks."}],[{"start":251.70000000000002,"text":"Carr noted last year when announcing his “bad labs” initiative that Huawei, the Chinese telecoms equipment giant that the US believes facilitates Chinese espionage, operated a testing lab that was evaluating whether products that required FCC certification contained Huawei telecoms gear. "}],[{"start":269.6,"text":"Alice Jou, deputy chief of the FCC office of engineering and technology, told a recent Hudson Institute event that the 1934 Communications Act had created a “quiet superpower” by giving the agency responsibility for regulating every consumer device that emits a radio frequency, including Bluetooth and WiFi."}],[{"start":290.5,"text":"Congress further empowered the FCC in 2019 and 2021 with laws that mandated the creation of a “covered list” of products that pose security threats, and barred the regulator from certifying products on the list. "}],[{"start":304.55,"text":"At the Hudson event, Zenji Nakazawa, head of the FCC’s public safety and homeland security bureau, said Carr had “injected rocket fuel into the veins” of the process by leveraging the covered list for national security actions. The debate inside the administration about modules is partly focused on whether they should be added to the “covered list”."}],[{"start":329.05,"text":"The FCC oversees the list, but decisions to add products are taken in co-ordination with other agencies. “On all our national security work, including recent actions on routers and drones, the FCC continues to co-ordinate across all relevant executive branch departments and agencies,” a second FCC official said."}],[{"start":346.7,"text":"The Chinese embassy in Washington said China “has stated its firm opposition” against the banning of drones and routers and that the US was “well aware” of its stance. "}],[{"start":364.65,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778574145_5570.mp3"}