American intelligence accuses Chinese concern Alibaba of providing client data to Chinese army. The November 1 intelligence memo presents this cooperation as a threat to US security. Alibaba powerfully denies the charges.
According to an intelligence document, Alibaba was to supply Chinese Army with IP addresses, WiFi information, payment data, and information on the usage of artificial intelligence services. The note lists, among others, the AliExpress e-commerce platform, which belongs to the Alibaba group.
Alibaba answers the charges
The company called the charges in an interview with the "Financial Times" “total nonsense”. «This is simply a simple effort to manipulate public opinion and slander Alibaba», stressed. In a later message cited by Reuters, the company “questions the motivation behind this anonymous leak”. Alibaba described the publication as “a malicious PR operation in a clear way coming from the authors of separate opinions who are trying to undermine president Trump's fresh trade agreement with China”.
Policy context
An intelligence note appeared immediately after a gathering of US president Donald Trump with China's president Xi Jinping in South Korea, where an yearly "trade truce" was agreed. In May, a group of congressmen asked the U.S. Securities Commission to exclude 25 Chinese companies, including Alibaby, citing their ties to the Chinese army and the "military-civil fusion" programme.
"Financial Times" could not verify intelligence. The White home and the CIA refused to comment.
Note: This article was created utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI).
