ECONOMIC, NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE U.S. AND OTHERS

“Reserved interfaces” provide Beijing with global capabilities to command and control key economic and information flows. They also allow for penetration of U.S. and allied systems and institutions to collect intelligence, disrupt operations, steal economic advantage, and co-opt them for the PLA’s operational purposes whenever requested. A raft of PRC laws and strategies—like MCF, which also includes relevant economic mobilization for defense plans, and Made in China 2025–require it.

These actions and laws in turn facilitate Beijing’s economic development and geostrategic strategies. For example, the “Innovation Driven Development Strategy,” a keystone PRC plan to boost China’s status as a technological superpower, benefits from industrial-scale acquisition of foreign technology and know-how, by any and all means.

Embedded and reserved interfaces threaten the United States and the global economy much more than simply providing the CPC additional espionage and data accumulation opportunities. Intent is also a significant factor. Recall in 2019 when electric vehicle pioneer Tesla, a commercially resourced company, remotely added battery capability to cars in Hurricane Dorian’s path. But imagine what a state-resourced actor with malevolent intent could accomplish. With backdoors, for example, the CPC now has the capability to attenuate systems that connect to a wide range of remote controllers.