China | The Contracting Education Academy

August 22, 2019 By cs

A ban on Chinese tech is on the books — are feds ready?

Federal agencies have less than a week to update their upcoming and in-process contracts to include provisions that prohibit telecommunications equipment or services — or components of equipment or services — that are produced by Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company or Dahua Technology Company.

The interim rule added to the Federal Acquisition Regulation Aug. 7 by the Department of Defense, General Services Administration and NASA notified agencies that they have until Aug. 13 to update their acquisitions to reflect the prohibition of products that are produced by companies with suspected links to the Chinese government.

The rule change is not unexpected, as the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act initially codified the prohibition on such acquisitions, but the new rule formally implements such requirements for federal agencies.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/2019/08/08/a-ban-on-chinese-tech-is-on-the-books-are-feds-ready

February 26, 2019 By AMK

The Pentagon needs to woo artificial intelligence experts away from big tech

Last week, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on artificial intelligence (AI), and the Pentagon declassified part of its AI strategy.

Neither was a first attempt at a national AI strategy. In 2016, the Obama administration published a comprehensive plan on the future of AI, which never had time to gain the momentum it needed in government. The Pentagon has been researching intelligent machines for the better part of 60 years, and only recently did it come to a consensus: Our future wars will be fought in code, using data and algorithms as powerful weapons. Using AI techniques, a military can “win” by destabilizing an economy rather than demolishing countrysides and city centers. From that perspective, and given China’s unified march advancing artificial intelligence, China is dangerously far ahead of the West.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.wired.com/story/the-pentagon-needs-to-woo-ai-experts-away-from-big-tech/

April 27, 2018 By AMK

Navy wants a better way to keep China’s nose out of its contracts

The other day, the U.S. Navy was about to issue a contract — nothing remarkable for an organization that awards dozens each week.

Then the contracting office realized that the specific division of the company they wanted to work with was in a joint venture with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. All of a sudden, the service “turned around and said, ‘Whoa, stop the horses,’” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told lawmakers Thursday.

In 2014, concerns about espionage led the U.S. to ban Huawei, which was founded by a former People’s Liberation Army engineer, from bidding on government contracts. In February, U.S. intelligence chiefs cautioned even the average American against buying Huawei products.

In this case, the Navy didn’t automatically kill the contract — though they did put a hold on it as they talked with the prime contractor.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/contracting/2018/04/navy-wants-better-way-keep-chinas-nose-out-its-contracts/147603/

April 10, 2018 By AMK

U.S. China Innovation Alliance works with Georgia Tech to support technology startup competition

The U.S. China Innovation Alliance (UCIA) is partnering with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to promote a May 16th event in Atlanta called InnoSTARS.

The event promotes the exchange of ideas and collaboration between U.S. innovative technology startups and Chinese investors, strategic partners and professional services firms. It serves as a platform for competition where innovative U.S. companies can win the opportunity to travel to China to pitch their business in highly sought-after Chinese innovation hubs. Business can meet industry-specific investors and partners with fund sizes larger than $50 million.

More information and applications for participation in the InnoSTARS competition are at: http://uschinainnovation.org/innostars2018/atlanta-city.

Inquiries can be directed to: http://uschinainnovation.org/innostars2018/contact-us/

April 26, 2016 By AMK

Florida woman charged in 18-count indictment for conspiracy to illegally export systems, components and documents to China

An 18-count superseding indictment was unsealed last Thursday (Apr. 21, 2016) charging Amin Yu, 53, of Orlando, Florida, with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government in the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General, conspiring to defraud the United States and to commit offenses against the United States, committing unlawful export information activities, smuggling goods from the United States, conspiring to and committing international money laundering and making false statements to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.

According to the superseding indictment, from at least 2002 until approximately February 2014, Yu obtained systems and components for marine submersible vehicles from companies in the United States. She did so at the direction of co-conspirators working for Harbin Engineering University (HEU), which is a state-owned entity in the People’s Republic of China. Yu proceeded to illegally export the systems and components to China for use by her co-conspirators in the development of marine submersible vehicles – unmanned underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles – for HEU and other state-controlled entities. It is alleged that Yu illegally exported items by failing to file electronic export information as required by U.S. law and also by filing false electronic export information. In particular, Yu completed and caused the completion of export-related documents in which she significantly undervalued the items that she had exported and also provided false end-user information for those items.

An indictment is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

If convicted, Yu faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each of the money laundering counts. She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on all other counts. The indictment also notifies Yu that the United States intends to forfeit approximately $2,668,648.92, the alleged traceable proceeds of the offenses.

This case was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Irick of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys David C. Recker and Thea D. R. Kendler of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-woman-charged-18-count-indictment-conspiracy-illegally-export-systems-components-and

Last week, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on artificial intelligence (AI), and the Pentagon declassified part of its AI strategy.

The other day, the U.S. Navy was about to issue a contract — nothing remarkable for an organization that awards dozens each week.

The U.S. China Innovation Alliance (UCIA) is partnering with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to promote a May 16th event in Atlanta called InnoSTARS.

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