The United States Attorney General William Barr accuses American tech companies of collaborating with the Chinese government. According to Barr, these companies are doing almost everything they can to gain access to the Chinese market.
According to Barr, the largest American tech companies have become nothing more than pawns for China. “Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Apple have been all too happy to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party”.
The American Attorney General also questions the safety of American products on the Chinese market. He suggested that iPhones “would not be sold in China if they were impenetrable to the Chinese authorities”. He suggested American tech companies were imposing a “double standard.”
Hong Kong Security Law
On the 30th of June, the Chinese government introduced a new security law in Hong Kong which allows the government to easily intervene in demonstrations and other forms of criticism of the Chinese government. Three days after the law was introduced, 370 people had already been arrested. Facebook, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn have all announced to temporarily suspend compliance with government requests for user data.
“If they unite, they will set a worthy example to other American companies in their opposition to the corrupt and dictatorial rule of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Barr.
The United States tech companies and the Chinese embassy have not yet responded to the attacks.
Relationship between China and the United States
The relationship between the United States and China has completely soured in recent times. Donald Trump accuses China of developing the coronavirus in a Chinese lab, but also the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the ban on Huawei in the United States also contributing to the deteriorating relationship between the two superpowers.