Tariffs could jumpstart Beijing's global spying efforts, executive warns
Why it matters: U.S. companies and government agencies were already grappling with an unprecedented wave of hacking activity linked to the Chinese government.
New tariff threats could intensify that pressure.
Driving the news: President Trump threatened on Monday to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods starting Friday. The warning followed Beijing's move to implement its own 34% retaliatory tariff.
"All talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated until such time as the tariffs are removed," Trump said.
Threat level: The escalation gives Chinese operatives a stronger incentive to gather intelligence from U.S. politicians and global companies about how seriously to take the tariff threats, Levi Gundert, chief security and intelligence officer at Recorded Future, told Axios.
"There will be a premium put on very timely information that helps them navigate this new era," he said.
The volume of China-backed espionage targeting U.S. entities is already at record levels.
Gundert said Beijing will likely also intensify efforts against governments and companies in other countries that are also negotiating new tariff deals with Trump.
Between the lines: Spying on sensitive political and economic discussions has long been a core objective of Chinese cyber operations. Gaining insights into tariff talks would fall squarely within Beijing's typical spying domains, Gundert said.
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Forbes
a few seconds ago
- Forbes
China Softens Stance: What A Yuan-Backed Stablecoin Could Mean
For years, Beijing's position on digital assets seemed resolute: cryptocurrencies were a threat to financial stability, a distraction from carefully managed capital controls, and a vehicle for speculation and fraud. When China banned crypto mining and trading in 2021, it looked like the end of any serious domestic experiment with blockchain-based money. Yet in a striking reversal, Chinese policymakers are now quietly preparing to consider yuan-backed stablecoins as a tool to strengthen the renminbi's role in the global economy. What was once prohibited may soon be actively promoted, but under strict guardrails. Reports indicate that the State Council is reviewing a roadmap for stablecoins pegged to the yuan, with Hong Kong and Shanghai tipped as pilot zones for rollout. Senior leadership is expected to convene in the coming weeks to clarify who will issue them, what regulations will govern their use, and how risks like capital outflows or illicit finance will be contained. For an economy still deeply cautious about capital flight, the idea of authorizing even state-linked stablecoins marks a profound recalibration. The shift reflects a convergence of pressures: the growing dominance of dollar-pegged stablecoins in cross-border trade, lobbying from Chinese tech giants eager to issue offshore digital yuan tokens, and the realization that without innovation, China risks ceding digital finance leadership to the U.S. and its allies. In other words, stablecoins are no longer just a speculative fringe product. they have become a geopolitical tool. From Prohibition to Pragmatism China's 2021 ban was sweeping. The government targeted everything from Bitcoin mining operations in Inner Mongolia to offshore exchanges serving domestic investors. The rationale was straightforward: crypto was volatile, energy-hungry, and capable of undermining state authority over money. But the world has changed in four short years. Stablecoins have moved from crypto curiosity to mainstream financial infrastructure, powering billions of dollars in daily settlement and serving as working capital for exporters in markets with scarce access to dollars. For Chinese merchants, the rise of dollar-linked stablecoins has been particularly compelling. Exporters paid in USDT or USDC can bypass some banking friction and settle faster with overseas buyers. That reality has alarmed Beijing, which fears an even greater US dollar entrenchment in global digital commerce. The answer for policymakers may be to create tightly regulated yuan-backed stablecoins as a counterweight. The logic is compelling. A digital asset denominated in renminbi could be efficient instrument for Belt and Road transactions, for trade with African and Southeast Asian partners, and for Chinese technology platforms that increasingly straddle global markets. It would also work with the existing e-CNY. The Role of Hong Kong and Shanghai The geography of China's stablecoin experiment is telling. Hong Kong has already implemented a Stablecoin Ordinance, requiring issuers to be licensed and subjecting them to strict oversight of reserves and redemption rights. The city has positioned itself as the experimental laboratory for digital finance within a 'one country, two systems' framework, where more liberal regulatory sandboxes are possible. Shanghai, meanwhile, is being readied as the mainland's operations hub. The city has always had ambitions to be a global financial center on par with New York and London, and an internationalized stablecoin market would fit neatly into that vision. By situating stablecoin pilots in these two hubs, China can cautiously test global use cases while keeping its capital account firewall intact. Global Currency Ambitions The strategic aim here is clear: to internationalize the yuan in digital form. Today, the renminbi accounts for just under 3% of global payments; the U.S. dollar constitutes just under half. A yuan-backed stablecoin could create a parallel channel for cross-border settlement, one that bypasses SWIFT and U.S. correspondent banks. If successful, the impact could be big. For decades, U.S. dollar dominance has rested on economic strength and the infrastructure of payments and settlement. Stablecoins erode some of that infrastructure advantage. For China, introducing a yuan stablecoin would provide a credible alternative currency in strategic corridors, particularly in Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America, where Chinese trade and investment already loom large. The Belt and Road Initiative is the obvious proving ground, as many of the primarily infrastructure-related projects funded by Chinese banks already involve yuan lending and repayment. A stablecoin denominated in renminbi would streamline these flows, reduce reliance on third-party currencies, and perhaps even lock partners more firmly into the Chinese financial orbit. Balancing Innovation and Control Still, Beijing's caution is visible. Policymakers remain deeply concerned about capital flight and money laundering. One reason the e-CNY was built as a centralized, state-controlled system was to ensure full traceability. Some stablecoins, even if issued by licensed banks or tech platforms, would inevitably operate on distributed systems. That raises questions about how to allow programmability and flexibility without undermining the PBOC's grip on the capital account. Reports suggest that only a handful of state-linked institutions, possibly the major state banks, will be initially authorized to issue yuan stablecoins. Redemption may be tightly geofenced, limited initially to B2B trade settlement rather than retail use. The PBOC is expected to impose real-time reporting obligations, reserve requirements, and redemption caps to prevent destabilizing flows. That balance will define the success of the project. Too much control, and the stablecoins will be clunky, unattractive, and irrelevant. Too little, and they risk fueling exactly the kind of capital flight Beijing fears. Implications for Fintech and Global Markets For fintech firms, the opening of yuan-backed stablecoin markets could be transformative. Custody providers, compliance technology firms, and payment processors will all find new opportunities to support the infrastructure of issuance and redemption. Chinese tech giants such as and Ant Group, which have reportedly lobbied for offshore stablecoins, may be essential levers in building consumer and merchant-facing applications. For emerging markets, the implications could be even larger. Platforms in Africa or Southeast Asia could integrate yuan stablecoins as settlement tools, reducing dependence on dollars and smoothing trade with Chinese suppliers. In places where dollar liquidity is limited, having a yuan alternative could reshape regional FX dynamics. Global investors, too, will be watching closely. If yuan-backed stablecoins gain traction, they could enable new asset classes and ETFs tied to Chinese digital currency infrastructure. They may also challenge the valuation of dollar-linked stablecoins, forcing issuers like Circle and Tether to rethink their positioning in Asian markets. Risks on the Horizon Of course, risks abound. International backlash is possible. Washington may view yuan stablecoins as a direct attempt to erode dollar hegemony, potentially prompting sanctions or controls on their use in U.S.-linked systems. Capital flight remains another concern: even carefully geofenced systems can be gamed, and sophisticated users could find ways to move yuan offshore without authorization. Domestically, the coexistence of e-CNY and stablecoins may create confusion or competition. The government has been pushing adoption of the e-CNY for years, but uptake has been uneven. If consumers or businesses perceive stablecoins as more practical, the state may face the awkward task of promoting one digital form of the yuan while restraining another. Finally, there is a risk of over-engineering. If regulatory requirements make yuan stablecoins cumbersome in the form of slow settlement, strict redemption limits, limited interoperability, then their adoption will likely be limited and the experiment will fizzle. A Quiet Paradigm Shift Even with these risks, China's willingness to consider yuan-backed stablecoins signals something important: a recognition that the future of money is digital, borderless, and programmable. While Beijing once hoped that the e-CNY alone would suffice, it now appears to understand that competing in the global arena will require a new, more flexible approach. Stablecoins are not about to dethrone the dollar overnight. But they could chip away at its dominance at the edges, especially in regions where China has strategic influence. For fintechs, they open new commercial opportunities. For policymakers, they introduce new regulatory challenges. And for the global financial system, they signal a future where digital money is not an experiment but a battleground of economic strategy. In that sense, the yuan-backed stablecoin debate is about more than technology. It is about whether China can use digital finance to accelerate its long-running project of currency internationalization. The coming months, as pilots are announced and regulations clarified, will show whether this is a cautious trial balloon or the start of a genuine re-engineering of the global monetary system.
Politico
a few seconds ago
- Politico
Playbook PM: Texas nears approval on new maps
Presented by THE CATCH-UP ANYBODY HAVE A MAP? Texas' redistricting rodeo is hurtling toward the final buzzer today with Republicans in the Texas Senate set to greenlight the White House-backed redistricting plan that would create five new GOP congressional seats, after the state House rubber-stamped the effort yesterday.. This morning, members of the Texas Senate's Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting voted 5-3 to send the proposed maps for a final vote in the chamber. The state Senate is set to convene at 8 p.m. Eastern to take up the proposal and send it to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Though the new maps have been fated to pass in the deep-red state, it's not all a wash for state Democrats. The group used their highly publicized two-week quorum break to spotlight the rare mid-decade redraw as a partisan power grab by Republicans. And though Abbott has promised legal punishments for the lawmakers who bucked against the special legislative session, Democrats have also threatened to challenge the new maps in court. And the map debate has spread out beyond the Lone Star State: INSIDE 1600 PENN: The White House's redistricting push is serving as a major test of President Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party and whether his well-honed negotiating skills translate beyond the beltway, POLITICO's Lisa Kashinsky, Daniel Desrochers and Holly Otterbein report. 'The more-stick-than-carrot approach has delivered Trump major wins in Washington by helping him barrel through initial GOP resistance,' and now 'that machine is whirring into gear again.' HOOSIER DADDY: So far, the Hoosier State is proving to be the most significant challenge to Trump's pressure campaign, with Republicans 'resisting a more intensive — and public — push' to redraw state lines, our colleagues write. Though Republican Gov. Mike Braun remains undecided on whether to call a special session, the administration 'shows no signs of letting up' and is 'planning to court more than four dozen Indiana Republicans' at the White House next week. GOING TO CALIFORNIA: Golden State Democrats are gearing up to push their own redistricting effort forward today to counter Texas Republicans, creating five new seats for their party. State lawmakers gathered today to consider a referendum that would allow a special election on Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed maps and two related bills. But the Democrat-centric redistricting effort faces a less certain future in the Golden State, which requires that voters — not lawmakers — decide to overturn the current district lines. 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But last week Trump 'indicated that senior Justice Department officials had already given him judicial recommendations for Washington's local courts, potentially bypassing the panel's selections.' Do you hear the people sing?: Washington is no stranger to large protests. But as Michael Schaffer writes in his latest Capital City column for POLITICO Mag, 'the nation's capital has been weirdly quiet' in response to Trump's police crackdown — and no one can seem to agree on why: 'Some cited the season … Others cited exhaustion and even fear,' while '[p]eople involved in planning protests against the takeover chalk some of it up to tactical choices.' 4. MAYBE THIS TIME: A New York appeals court tossed out New York AG's Letitia James' $500 million civil fraud case against the president's family business today — but the court declined to overturn James' case against Trump himself, POLITICO's Erica Orden reports. 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Mayes Middleton and Joan Huffman, and former DOJ appointee Aaron Reitz. '[R]epresentatives should not be permanent,' Roy said in a release. 'And my experience watching Texans unite in response to the devastating Hill Country floods made clear that I want to come home. I want to take my experience in Congress, as a federal prosecutor, and as First Assistant Attorney General to fight for Texas from Texas.' Watch his launch video 9. ME AND THE SKY: Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) are launching an official investigation into Paramount's $7 billion merger with fellow media conglomerate Skydance, The Hill's Dominick Mastrangelo scoops. The pair sent a 'letter to Paramount leadership on Wednesday demanding documents, communications and detailed answers' on the merger and noted concerns about 'troubling' statements from Trump regarding a possible financial agreement. 'Paramount has denied any such agreement with Trump exists and insisted its settlement with the president only includes a $16 million payment to his foundation, which was announced as the deal was struck.' TALK OF THE TOWN SPOTTED: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Jeanine Pirro having lunch at The Hamilton yesterday. Pic Matt and Ginger Gaetz welcomed a son, Luckey Louis Gaetz. AND THE AWARD GOES TO — The Congressional Management Foundation announced winners of the 2025 Democracy Awards, including multiple categories honoring one Republican and one Democratic congressional office as well as chiefs of staff. Honorees for excellence in congressional management include Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Nikki Budzinski's (D-Ill.) offices. Honorees for chief of staff of the year include J.T. Jezierski of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's ( office, Tricia Russell of Sen. Chris Van Hollen's (D-Md.) office, Chris Crawford of Rep. Buddy Carter's (R-Ga.) office and Mitchell Rivard of Rep. Jason Crow's (D-Colo.) office. Winners will be formally recognized at the 2025 Democracy Awards Ceremony on Sept. 18. See the full list of awardees Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath
Vox
a few seconds ago
- Vox
Stephen Miller is undercutting Trump's war on democracy
is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. His book on democracy,, was published 0n July 16. You can purchase it here. In the public imagination, Stephen Miller is the dark heart of the Trump administration — a pulsing mass of anti-immigrant hatred behind its most aggressively authoritarian moves. But what if there's a different story to be told — that Stephen Miller's obsession with deportations isn't helping President Donald Trump secure control over the country, but actively undermining it? Take Trump's militarization of Washington, DC, as an example. The move is puzzling, in that it's authoritarian in principle but ineffective in execution. While seemingly designed to expand Trump's ability to control the American public, the on-the-ground deployments are doing nothing to repress protest — in fact, they're assuredly generating far more resistance than they're suppressing. So what's going on? The best answer I've found is a recent piece from Dara Lind, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council (and Vox alum). Looking granularly at the details of the operations in DC, Lind found they heavily focused on immigration enforcement — things like forcing DC police to cooperate with ICE and setting up checkpoints to try and trap people they think look like migrants. 'Every day since the federal takeover, DC residents have posted videos of federal agents — often with a mix of uniforms or no official badges at all — in patrols, staffing checkpoints, or going after people. And the people they've been going after have largely been (apparent) immigrants,' Lind writes. (Her findings are supported by recent on-the-ground reporting from the Wall Street Journal.) This is, I think, a viciously cruel policy (not to mention a waste of federal resources). But it is also a very ineffective policy when it comes to consolidating authoritarian control. Undocumented migrants do not vote, but the administration's ceaseless efforts to deport them en masse is galvanizing street protests and tanking GOP support among Latino voters. This is Miller's influence on policy made manifest: obsessed with deportations, he has done everything he can to turn the federal government into a deportation machine. And it's actually hurting the overall Trumpist cause. Stephen Miller is doing authoritarianism wrong I wrote a book about how democracies become autocracies. One of my central findings is that, for would-be autocrats, it is exceptionally important to maintain democratic appearances. If you are too openly authoritarian before consolidating enough power, you're likely to galvanize a potent wave of popular resistance. The paradigmatic recent example is South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempted power grab in December. Instead of subtly chipping away at Korean democracy, Yoon simply declared martial law overnight and tried to arrest opposition leaders. The result was an immediate street uprising and a parliamentary vote nullifying the martial law declaration. Yoon was impeached and is currently on trial for insurrection, a crime punishable by life imprisonment or death. The paradigmatic counter-case is Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. After winning power in 2010, Orbán and his Fidesz party made a blizzard of confusing changes to Hungarian law designed to make elections less competitive and bring the courts to heel. They then spent years expanding their power, using financial and regulatory pressures to take control over the press and civil society. Today, the electoral deck is so stacked in the ruling party's favor that even a wildly popular opposition leader may not be able to win the 2026 elections. Yoon and Orbán represent poles we can use to evaluate the Trump administration's authoritarian effectiveness. The more Trump acts like Yoon, attempting to nakedly assert the powers of a police-state ruler in a democracy, the more likely he is to generate meaningful pushback. The more he acts like Orbán, hiding behind a legalistic veneer, the more insidious the threat becomes. By this metric, the most dangerous developments of the Trump administration have been his attacks on universities, his successful shakedown of CBS, his push to get Republican states to do pre-midterm gerrymandering, and the Supreme Court's willingness to bless his mass firings of federal employees (at least temporarily). All of those developments tangibly affect American democracy. Each chips away at a key institution — civil society, the free press, fair elections, and limits on executive power — that prevent authoritarian consolidation. Each moves Trump meaningfully closer toward building an Orbán-style regime (even if the United States is still pretty far off from the terminus). But the militarized immigration crackdown championed by Miller doesn't advance that goal in any meaningful way. It combines the optics of authoritarianism — sending masked, unidentified armed men into the streets of American cities — with a lack of actual repressive capacity. Look, for example, at this recent video of DC residents (in my old neighborhood) chasing off unidentified federal agents. The feds are armed and masked, but the protesters are totally fearless. Why? Because unlike an outright authoritarian state, where demonstrators are repressed with deadly force, Trump's guys aren't authorized to fire indiscriminately on crowds. Their show of force is just that — a show. And people on the ground, in DC and LA before it, are calling their bluff. Miller's crackdown is good at two things: deporting undocumented people and terrorizing the communities they live in. I find this abhorrent: he is hurting innocent people, and the US writ large, for no good reason. But the fact that Miller's policy is morally terrible does not mean it is contributing to Trump's broader authoritarian project. In fact, its naked cruelty and thuggishness are the best reasons to think it's counterproductive. Back in November 2019, Stephen Miller said in a meeting that deporting immigrants was his reason for living. 'This is all I care about,' he said, per the New Yorker. 'I don't have a family. I don't have anything else. This is my life.' That same month, Miller got engaged to his now-wife Katie. The level of monomania on display there, an obsession with immigration so total that it erased his own fiancée, has been even more vividly on display in this administration — where he has personally redirected ICE officers responsible for disrupting organized crime to arresting random construction workers at Home Depot. I don't think Miller is thinking carefully about whether his deportation campaign is contributing to Trump's authoritarian consolidation of power. I think he just wants to deport people, and the consequences be damned. Mostly, those consequences are horrific. But if there's any silver lining, it's this: Miller is helping awaken millions of Americans to the true nature of their current government.
