Latest news with #GlobalCounsel
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
U.K. envoy urges transatlantic tech alliance, cites China threat
The U.S. and its allies across the Atlantic must forge a technology partnership and win the artificial intelligence race even as China makes steady advances, the U.K.'s envoy in Washington said. Ambassador Peter Mandelson warned of the consequences if China continues to get ahead in AI and other key technologies. "They will be able to do things which cascade down not just to their own country but everyone else's across the world,' Mandelson said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday. "There is nothing I fear more in this world than China winning the race for technological dominance.' Before being appointed ambassador, Lord Mandelson had criticized the Conservative-led government for mismanaging ties with China and called for a thaw in relations. He is a founder of Global Counsel, a firm that's become one of the most influential advisory groups in the U.K. and has been expanding its coverage of China. The Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been pursuing closer ties with Beijing despite unease in Washington and other U.K. allies. Mandelson said U.K.-China relations are unlikely to return to where they were a decade ago. "We're not going to to back to the 'Golden Era' of Cameron,' he said, referring to former Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015 in a visit hailed as a breakthrough in ties. Since then, London's relationship with Beijing has deteriorated over a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, its support for Russia's war in Ukraine, and alleged cyberattacks and spying operations in the U.K.. Mandelson also cautioned the European Union to be "much more skeptical' about building closer ties with China, even as the two sides step up their engagement to push back against the Trump administration's tariffs. The ambassador called for a "reboot' of the trans-Atlantic alliance not only in technology but also defense, pointing to the war in Ukraine as a "brutal wake-up call.' He said European defense needs to step up and become less dependent on the U.S. NATO leaders are expected to sign off on a new defense spending goal during their summit in The Hague next month, with U.S. President Donald Trump demanding an increase to 5% of GDP. "We have lived in a fantasy created by the U.S. security guarantee, complacent that a friendly heavyweight across the water would be always there when the going gets tough,' he said.
Associated Press
12-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
New Report Provides Stakeholder-driven Insight into the Fight Against Economic Crime
The report identifies obstacles and recommended actions for advancing collective efforts to combat the global challenge WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Strategic advisory firm Global Counsel, working in conjunction with pioneering Privacy Enhancing Technology company Enveil, announced the release of a new report aimed at advancing the fight against economic crime. This pervasive challenge makes a $3.1 trillion dollar annual global impact and costs the UK economy an estimated £8.5bn each year. The report, 'Breaking barriers: How data sharing can transform the fight against economic crime,' examines how the government and private sector can prevent and tackle economic crime by providing greater direction on data and intelligence sharing. Commissioned by Enveil and the culmination of a months-long effort, the research shows that a broad consensus exists to advance fraud mitigation efforts that would create a hostile environment for criminals. 'The lack of a clear, collective focus on economic crime prevention policy and practices by stakeholders across this space was the primary driver for undertaking this research effort,' said Ellison Anne Williams, CEO of Enveil. 'We live in a data-rich, technology-enabled world that is ripe with opportunity to evolve, and we've started to recognize areas where groundbreaking tools and capabilities can drive positive outcomes. This includes Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), which are currently being explored and leveraged in sandbox and real-world deployments on a global scale.' The content of the white paper was sourced from interviews conducted by Global Counsel across a wide range of senior stakeholders from UK organizations at the forefront of economic crime detection, prevention, and mitigation. The authors specifically focused on cultural and policy barriers to better collaboration, data sharing, and technological innovation. The research identifies four obstacles to data and intelligence sharing: A lack of clear incentives that address cost and regulatory risk: Firms want to help, but they need legislative clarity to make it easy and inexpensive to do so. Legal ambiguity: Firms need legal clarity, for example around terms such as 'economic crime', to help them manage legal risk. A better understanding of new technologies: Criminals move fast to adapt to technological change but firms sometimes are slow to adopt new methods, particularly third-party solutions such as Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs). A fragmented data-sharing environment: There are wide differences between cross-sector pilots due to inconsistent governance and data requirements where a standardized approach would make participation easier and lower cost. Further, the report suggests progress can be made if the government and private sector provide greater direction on data and intelligence sharing. It offers three recommendations for action specific to the UK: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), and National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) should run operational pilots, testing new technologies such as PETs, including a wide range of public and private stakeholders, to produce a common understanding of how technology can help. The Government should call time on voluntary agreements and mandate information sharing in the financial services sector. The Government should authorize the ICO and other regulatory bodies to oversee a standardized lexicon for UK data and intelligence sharing. The current economic crime climate necessitates bold action by both policy makers and industry stakeholders — and a sustainable, near-term solution will be found at the intersection of policy, technology, and a commitment to action. This means working to leverage the cross-boundary data and technology-enabling capabilities that will allow stakeholders to collaborate and fight economic crimes more effectively. Learn more about the research methodology and read the full report here. About Enveil Enveil is a pioneering Privacy Enhancing Technology company protecting Data in Use and changing the paradigm of how and where organizations can leverage data to unlock value. Defining the transformative category of Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), Enveil's award-winning ZeroReveal® solutions for secure data usage, collaboration, monetization, and Secure AI protect the content of the search, analytic, or model while it's being used or processed. Using these business-enabling and privacy-preserving capabilities, customers can extract insights, cross-match, search, analyze, and utilize AI across boundaries and silos at scale without exposing their interests and intent or compromising the security or ownership of the underlying data. A World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and Gartner Cool Vendor, Enveil is deployed and operational today, revolutionizing data usage in the global marketplace. Learn more at Global Counsel Global Counsel is a strategic advisory business. We help companies and investors across a wide range of sectors to anticipate the ways in which politics, regulation and public policymaking create both risk and opportunity — and to develop and implement strategies to meet these challenges. Our team has experience in politics and policymaking in national governments and international institutions backed with deep regional and local knowledge. Our offices in Berlin, Brussels, Doha, London, Singapore and Washington DC are supported by a global network of policymakers, businesses and advisers. Our partnership with The Messina Group and wider international network further strengthens our global reach. Learn more at
The Guardian
29-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Peter Mandelson calls past remarks about Trump ‘ill-judged and wrong'
Peter Mandelson has said his past remarks that Donald Trump was 'a danger to the world' were 'ill-judged and wrong' before his expected confirmation as ambassador to the US. Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday morning, Lord Mandelson said Trump had won 'fresh respect' with his 'dynamism and energy'. Mandelson's volte-face came amid reports he had received his diplomatic 'agrément' – or agreement in principle – from the US to serve as the UK's ambassador to Washington, despite concerns in Trump's team about his links to China and the client list of his consultancy, Global Counsel. Foreign Office officials said that, barring any unexpected obstacles, Mandelson would be formally confirmed in his role next month. Mandelson, a former Labour minister who now sits in the House of Lords, has also been critical of Trump in the past, describing him as a 'bully' and 'reckless and a danger to the world'. Speaking to Fox News, Mandelson said: 'I consider my remarks about President Trump as ill-judged and wrong. I think that times and attitudes toward the president have changed since then.' 'I think people have been impressed not just by the extraordinary second mandate that he has received from the American people, but the dynamism and energy with which he approached not just the campaign but government as well,' he added. 'I think that he has won fresh respect. He certainly has from me, and that is going to be the basis of all the work I do as his majesty's ambassador in the United States.' Asked about reports of concerns in Trump's team about his appointment, Mandelson said: 'I've heard nothing from the president or the White House or anyone working for him that suggests that there's going to be any difficulty about my appointment.' He added: 'I've been appointed as his majesty the king's ambassador in the United States. That means I'm both his and my country's representative in the US. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 'I think that as an experienced and longstanding friend of the US as I am, I think that President Trump will look at my credentials and consider what's best for the relationship going forward. I think, you know, the president is a nice person, he's a fair-minded person, and that's why I feel quite confident.' Chris LaCivita, a campaign aide to Trump, described Mandelson as 'an absolute moron' in December and questioned why Keir Starmer was replacing the 'professional, universally respected' outgoing ambassador, Karen Pierce, who built links with Trump. Government sources stressed that LaCivita was not due to have any role in Trump's administration. Mandelson is known to have strong connections in China and has held meetings with senior Chinese Communist party figures as recently as 2023. The Guardian revealed that Global Counsel worked for Shein, the Chinese fashion company, until early last year. The company has lobbied for TikTok, which is banned on government devices in the US, UK and EU. The Nightly, an Australian news outlet, reported this week that a dossier on Mandelson's China links compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) had been handed by US senators to the FBI.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FBI ‘handed dossier' on Lord Mandelson's alleged China links
A dossier detailing Lord Mandelson's alleged links to China has reportedly been handed to the FBI and could further complicate his chances of being accepted as ambassador to the US by Donald Trump. The memo, compiled using open source information from the Chinese web and delivered by US senators, is said to contain multiple examples of the Labour grandee's links to the state and its top-ranking officials. It is the latest step in a long-running furore since Lord Mandelson was picked by Sir Keir Starmer to be Britain's representative in the US. Downing Street rejected the details in the report, and insisted Lord Mandelson's appointment would go ahead. A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: 'On that specific report, the Foreign Office don't recognise the reports of a dossier.' He added: 'Whilst we do not usually comment on individuals, Lord Mandelson has made all relevant declarations as part of this process, and this ensures that steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential or perceived conflicts of interest.' The dossier, published in Australian media, includes details of Lord Mandelson's meetings from 2013 to 2019 with Chinese officials and businessmen, who praised him for his 'co-operation'. The memo also notes that the politician was described as an 'adviser' to a Chinese-headquartered global bank, something which is not listed on the House of Lords register of interests. According to The Nightly, an Australian publication, the Chinese published photographs of a meeting that took place between Lord Mandelson and Huang Shuhe, the then deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council in March 2014. A read-out of the meeting posted on a Chinese website said Lord Mandelson 'introduced the business situation of Global Counsel and the cases of co-operation with central enterprises'. In response, Huang Shuhe said he 'hoped that Global Counsel would continue to provide quality services for central enterprises to further enhance their international competitiveness'. More recently, in 2019, Lord Mandelson met Zhou Yubo, then secretary of China's ruling communist party's committee and chairman of China Guoxin, an asset management firm. A post on the Chinese web said: 'Mr Mandelson … said that China Guoxin has established a good image as an institutional investor and that Global Counsel is very willing to strengthen the all-round co-operation with China Guoxin.' In another example, Lord Mandelson was described as an 'adviser' to the Chinese-headquartered global investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC). In 2013, Song Yufang, the then chairman of China Railway Materials Corporation met the Labour peer and described him as an 'adviser' of CICC. He said he 'hoped that Lord Mandelson would continue to pay attention to and support China Railway's development in the future'. This is despite it not being listed on the House of Lords register of interests. The memo was prepared by Chung Ching Kwong of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China and was subsequently passed to the FBI. Lord Mandelson, who is expected to arrive in the US in the coming weeks, told The Nightly: 'I have had no business dealings in China.' The peer found himself in hot water just hours after his appointment was announced last month, when The Telegraph revealed he previously described Mr Trump as a 'danger to the world' and 'little short of a white nationalist and racist'. That led Chris LaCivita, the campaign manager who masterminded Mr Trump's presidential run, to call Lord Mandelson an 'absolute moron'. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Republican wrote: 'This UK government is special. Replace a professional universally respected [ambassador] with an absolute moron – he should stay home! Sad!' Lord Mandelson, nicknamed the 'Prince of Darkness' during his time as a Labour spin doctor, insisted he had never held such views about the president, claiming he was merely describing the thoughts and feelings of British people. Sources within the Trump team reportedly said it was still not certain the former Cabinet minister would be accepted by the president. Previous reports have suggested Lord Mandelson's perceived links to China, combined with his past comments on Mr Trump, now US president once more, could scupper his chances. While Lord Mandelson has been confirmed as the UK's choice for ambassador, he could still be rejected by the Trump administration. The US could refuse 'agrément' – the formal acceptance of an envoy by a host country – vetoing the nomination without explanation, under the terms of the Vienna Convention. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
