Biden redraws battle lines in the tech war with China
President Joe Biden's administration has put his predecessor's assault on Chinese tech on ice
14 May 2021 • 12:00pm
As the elevator ascended the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, James Lewis’s guides offered word of advice. “You know, the Chinese built this building,” the former US diplomat remembers them saying, “so when you speak, speak clearly into the wall”.
It was December 2019, about two years after the explosive allegation that Chinese spies had snooped on the Union’s business through its Huawei-made communications network. But in June, the body had approved Huawei for an expanded contract, and now everyone in the lift was laughing about it.