Welcome back to Beijing. Bites your friendly neighborhood, tech and cyberbeat. I'm ting and I'm here to break down the wildest fortnight in the US China tech war, served up with a side of wit, no MSG or spyware, I promise. So where to start? Last week? Imagine the world's two biggest frenemies, Uncle Sam and the People's Republic duking it out in Geneva. Trade delegates sweating over their lattes, finally
hammering out a ninety day tariff truce. No, this isn't a nineties rom com, but it has almost as much drama. The US and China agreed to slash tariffs on each other's goods, with tariffs dropping from apocalyptic levels two hundred and forty five percent on some Chinese imports one hundred and twenty five percent the other way to a more
civil ten percent. But don't breathe easy. Trump's special twenty percent tax meant to punish Beijing for the fentanyl crisis still stands, so total US tariffs hover around thirty percent. That's like ordering extra chili oil and realizing your stomach still isn't safe now. The non tariff Shenanigans. Beijing added eleven US companies to their Infamous Unreliable Entities list, basically giving them the digital cold shoulder, barring them from import, export,
and investment in China. Another sixteen US firms, mostly defense and aerospace, got slapped onto the export control blacklist, meaning no more dual use tech for you. Plus, the Ministry of Commerce launched an anti dumping probe into US medical CT tubes and dropped an anti monopoly bomb on a major US chemical company's China arm And if you're in the rare earth's game, you'll want to sit down. China clamped export controls on seven types of rare earths, the
lifeblood of everything from evs to missiles. Considering China controls ninety percent of global rare earth supply, that's a power move. Meanwhile, in the IT world, Deep Seek, Yes, that hyped up AI startup has been powering up PCs, robots and evs from Lenovo to Jili, deploying AI in ways that would make even Elon Musk raise an eyebrow. Deutsche Bank called it a Sputnik moment for Chinese tech. Of course, the US is watching with one eye on the sanctions list.
On the policy front, both sides are eyeing a fragile daytont but industry experts warn it projects and supply chains are still in limbo. The markets are up, and Trump's tweeting win that, but let's be real, the clock's ticking. If this ninety day tariff pause doesn't turn into something more, those twenty four percent tariffs from April ssecond could come roaring back on August ten. Think of it as a software trial that expires unless you cough up for the
pro version. Cybersecurity still a battlefield too. No major new hacks in the past two weeks, but every analyst I know says the quiet part out loud. The US and China are both ramping up cyber deterrents with Beijing's new export controls and Washington's expanded blacklist for Chinese chip makers. What's next. Expect more chess less checkers, China's doubling down on AI and green tech, betting big on self reliance, the US still trying to thread the needle between innovation
and protectionism. Some analysts say this is the calm before the next tech storm, as both sides figure out just how much detante each can stomach, So keep your fire walls up and your VPNs ready. Beijing bytes signing off until next time, May your code compile and your cyber skills never rust. Thanks for listening, Make sure you hit the subscribe button and never miss an update. This has been a quiet please production. For more check out quiet please dot ai