🌍 Industrial espionage against Apple

🗺️ AROUND THE WORLD

1. 🇨🇳 China: As Japan opens this year’s G7 summit (with an in-person appearance by Ukraine’s president), China is kicking off its own summit with five Central Asian leaders. China is expanding its influence in the former Soviet states where Russia has long been dominant.

2. 🇬🇷 Greece: Voters will head to the polls on Sunday for one of the most unpredictable Greek elections in years. The right-leaning New Democracy party looks set to perform well, but most expect it’ll fall short of the 46% threshold it needs to rule alone.

3. 🇻🇳 Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s biggest city, is rolling out a series of energy-saving measures (like partially shutting down elevators and streetlights) to preserve electricity during a current hot spell. Nearly a third of Vietnam’s energy comes from hydropower.

4. 🇺🇸 US: Montana has become the first US state to ban TikTok for all residents. The governor said the ban, which starts in January, will protect users from TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

5. 🇹🇷 Turkey: Ankara has decried Germany’s brief detention of two Turkish-language journalists, after their pro-government outlet published images of a government critic’s family home. There are around 1.5 million folks in Germany eligible to vote in Turkey’s election.

🇨🇳 CHINA | TECH & SECURITY

Ex-Apple employee accused of stealing secrets

Briefly: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused a former Apple engineer of stealing self-driving car secrets from the Californian tech giant before fleeing to China. The case is one of five brought by a new DOJ taskforce working to prevent foreign governments from accessing critical US tech.

US authorities allege the man:

• 🕵️ Worked secretly for a rival China-based firm while still at Apple

• 💾 Downloaded reams of sensitive data in his final days at Apple, and

• 🛫 Got a ticket to China just hours after telling the feds he had no such plans.

The accused has remained in China since then (2018), but could face decades in prison if (and that’s a yuuuge if) he’s ever extradited back to the US.

And this isn’t exactly a one-off. According to a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

• It’s the third time an ex-Apple employee has faced similar charges

• US firms have sued Chinese rivals for IP theft 1,200 times since 2000, and

• There’ve been at least 120 reported instances of China itself conducting espionage against the US to acquire commercial tech.

Intrigue’s take: This latest iTheft dates back to 2018, and a lot’s changed since then. These days, the US is far more wary of China’s attempts at self-sufficiency in cutting edge tech, and last year moved to block its access to advanced chips.

In response, Beijing launched a ‘cybersecurity review’ into one top U.S. chip maker (Micron), and is scrutinising the acquisition plans of another (Intel).

So at this point, it’s hard to see how US-China tech ties could get much worse.

Also worth noting:

• Recruiters from China-based firms have been spotted standing outside South Korean chip factories, hoping to poach US-educated talent.

• Japan and the Netherlands joined the US in restricting the sale of chip manufacturing technology to China earlier this year.

Today’s briefing is sponsored by Upward News

🕊️ AFRICA | GEOPOLITICS

African leaders are hitting the road on a peace mission to Russia and Ukraine

Briefly: South Africa announced this week that a delegation of African leaders will travel to Moscow and Kyiv for peace talks. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will reportedly lead the group, which will include the leaders of Egypt, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia.

Many African leaders are well-placed to serve as mediators. They:

1. 🏳️ Have stayed relatively neutral throughout the war, and

2. 🌾 Their countries have felt the war’s impacts, including grain and energy shortages across the African continent.

In other words, they may have the will and the way to make a difference.

Intrigue’s take: But even the best-intentioned plans are doomed to fail if the conditions for peace aren’t there.

Still, local peace almost always requires global buy-in. So, the more the merrier.

Also worth noting:

• Beijing confirmed on Thursday that its new peace envoy met with Ukrainian President Zelensky during a two-day visit to Kyiv this week.

• G7 leaders will discuss a potential global peace summit during their talks in Japan over the weekend.

• Russia has reportedly agreed to extend a key deal allowing Ukraine to export crops via the Black Sea, according to Turkish officials.

👀 EXTRA INTRIGUE

The following words are anagrams of four world leader surnames. Can you unscramble them all?

1. Dashiki

2. Samoa harp

3. Oilmen

4. Groaned

🗺️ MAP OF THE DAY

Did you know France and the Netherlands share a border?

Not in Europe, but on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, which the two European powers have split since the Treaty of Concordia in 1648. The movement to unify the island recently picked up steam when Covid border closures led to protests.

🗳️ QUIZ TIME!

Anagram answers: 1- Kishida (Japanese PM), 2- Ramaphosa (South African president), 3- Meloni (Italian PM), 4- Erdogan (Turkish president)

Quiz answers: 1- b, 2-a, 3-a.