Tariffs Tanked, Hackers Lurked: Trumps Summit Showdown with Xi Gets Spicy cover art

Tariffs Tanked, Hackers Lurked: Trumps Summit Showdown with Xi Gets Spicy

Tariffs Tanked, Hackers Lurked: Trumps Summit Showdown with Xi Gets Spicy

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 This is your Beijing Bytes: US-China Tech War Updates podcast.

Hey listeners, Ting here with Beijing Bytes, your witty dive into the US-China tech war frenzy. Buckle up—it's been a wild two weeks ending February 22, 2026, with tariffs flipping, hackers lurking, and chips sparking summit drama.

Picture this: I'm sipping baijiu in my Beijing hacker den when the Supreme Court drops a bombshell on February 20, striking down President Trump's sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Poof—those IEEPA levies on Chinese goods vanish, giving Xi Jinping serious leverage ahead of Trump's March 31 White House-to-Beijing summit with him. Trump, furious, slaps a temporary 10% global tariff, then hikes it to 15%, ranting about China's surpluses rebuilding their army. But experts like Sun Yun from the Stimson Center say it's a moral boost for Beijing—they're prepped for no real change, while Wendy Cutler from Asia Society Policy Institute bets on Plan B via the USTR's Section 301 probe into China's Phase One trade deal flops.

Tech restrictions? Mixed bag. Trump promised Vietnam's To Lam during their White House meet to yank Hanoi off the advanced tech export control list—huge for semiconductors and jets, with Vietnamese airlines inking $37 billion Boeing deals. Meanwhile, Section 232 tariffs hit hard: 25% on logic integrated circuits and semiconductor gear effective January 15, exempting US data centers and startups. Ship-to-shore gantry cranes from China? 100% duties delayed to November, per USTR's October notice. De minimis exemptions for cheap Chinese imports? Gutted—now 54% duties or $100 per postal item since May.

Cyber front's pure chaos. China-linked hackers, per Google's threat intel and Mandiant, exploited Dell's zero-day CVE-2026-22769 in RecoverPoint software since mid-2024, dropping BRICKSTORM backdoors and SLAYSTYLE webshells for espionage. January reports from Eurasia Review exposed state-linked crews hacking Downing Street aides' phones for years. Poland bans Chinese cars from military sites over data fears, and France's FICOBA registry leak hit 1.2 million bank accounts.

Industry's reeling—US firms eye exemptions, Chinese polysilicon and robotics under threat. China doubles down on e-CNY, banning offshore RMB stablecoins and tightening RWA tokenization, per Crypto News regs this February.

Strategically? US pushes CFTC Clarity Act for crypto clarity, but Beijing rejects "gunboat diplomacy," per Modern Diplomacy. Xi's team will demand Nvidia H200 chips, eased Huawei bans, and Taiwan restraint. Sun Yun forecasts cautious talks—China wants rare earth flows for concessions. Long-term, it's redlines on Taiwan Strait crises, USNI warns, with Trump eyeing export controls if Beijing squeezes magnets.

Forecast? Summit could thaw chips, but cyber ops escalate—expect more zero-days. US tech edge holds if Clarity Act passes by spring, per Treasury's Scott Bessent. Witty takeaway: In this war, hackers win coffee breaks, but tariffs? They're the real backdoor exploit.

Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more bytes! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

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