The United States has been unwittingly providing China with military intelligence and buying back its own waste by selling discarded electronics to companies that ship the materials to China for “recycling,” according to a report from the US-based military affairs website Strategy Page.
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However, the Chinese government is said to be aware of the general carelessness with which America disposes its electronic waste and has informed Chinese firms to put aside certain types of electronic trash imported from the US, the report said, adding that even if the discarded components are not the latest or most highly classified they will still provide China with important and useful information about US military technology.
The other issue, the report said, is that the electronic waste shipped to China is often scooped up by counterfeiters, who then sell the components back to the US as “new” after some minimal refurbishment and creating fake serial numbers. Many of these components end up being used as replacements in machinery and even parts for aircraft, ships, vehicles and weapons systems, including those owned by the US military, the report added.
Full article: China getting military intelligence from US e-waste: report (Want China Times)
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