U.S. issues warning against Chinese-made drones due to potential data leak

미중 무역 갈등 심화... 미 중국산 드론, 희토류 산업까지 경계…

Washington and Beijing's tariff tit-for-tat continues.
It seems now, they're raising the stakes by further targeting crucial industries.
Oh Soo-young zooms in on the two superpowers trade war.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued "strong concern" that Chinese-made drones may be sending flight data back to China.
According to CNN, U.S. companies have been warned to exercise caution when buying devices,... which could "transfer American data into an authoritarian state which permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access" to such information.
While the warning did not specify the companies, it is presumed to target DJI, China's number one drone-maker which accounts for almost 80 percent of drones in the U.S. and Canada.
The warning comes amid the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing,... and after President Donald Trump's order last week that bans U.S. firms from doing business with China's Huawei.
But to minimize impact on Huawei's existing U.S. customers and enable software updates, Washington on Monday eased some of the restrictions,... allowing Huawei to buy American products for 90 days. .
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei appeared to dismiss this move on Tuesday, saying Washington's actions to block Huawei from purchasing American chips underestimate the Chinese company's capabilities.
Ren told CCTV that Huawei was at odds with the U.S. government,... not U.S. firms,... and that his company could make the chips it buys from America.
He indicated that the firm had been ready for U.S. action.
In fact, Beijing appears to be sending a message that it isn't backing down.
China's Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that President Xi Jinping had visited a company specializing in rare earth minerals,... which are crucial for producing smartphones, superconductors and other high-tech devices.
Rare earth minerals were among the few goods Washington excluded from plans to impose wide-ranging tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S.
Observers have interpreted Xi's visit as a strategic reminder of America's heavy reliance on Chinese minerals,... further generating speculation that they could be used as a leverage,... and raise the stakes in the ongoing trade war.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.