US hearing warns Chinese economic espionage now targets AI

The United States has been asleep for decades as China undercut US economic strength by stealing ideas, technologies and, more recently, Artificial Intelligence advances, with the Chinese military first in line to benefit, according to testimony heard by a congressional committee on Thursday.The hearing by the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="46252" data-entity-type="organization">House Select Committee on China, which focused on economic espionage and Chinese efforts to exert influence at state and local levels, was held amid mounting bilateral tension over export controls and tech rivalry – despite last month’s summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump meant to stabilise relations.“China has orchestrated a highly strategic, highly accelerated and multifaceted effort to steal commercial and technological secrets from the United States and other Western nations,” said David Shedd, former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.