Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
On August 5, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a eulogy for the global internet. He didn’t call it that, of course; instead, in his weekly presentation to the media at the State Department, he celebrated the launch of an expanded effort, called the Clean Network initiative, “to keep Americans’ data safe from untrusted vendors.”
In addition to efforts aimed at cutting off Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei — which is already barred from doing business in the U.S. — Pompeo announced the Clean Store initiative, a new name for the Trump administration’s recent war against TikTok, the Chinese video sharing app that is hugely popular among teenagers in the United States.
“We want to see untrusted Chinese apps removed from U.S. app stores,” Pompeo said from his podium. “With parent companies based in China, apps like TikTok, WeChat and others are significant threats to the personal data of American citizens, not to mention tools for C
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
Brands have long relied on social auditing companies to monitor their supply chains in China. But between the industry’s own flaws and a changing political environment in China, many say these reports aren't reliable. With the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act now going into effect, this lack of trust in the industry leaves many global companies — and those hoping to hold them accountable — in a tricky spot.
A key figure in the Trump administration, the former reporter and Marine talks about the reality of the Chinese Communist Party's ambitions, the value of concrete actions vs. rhetoric, how Xi was flummoxed by Trump,...
