US halts sanctions against Chinese spy agency to protect trade truce: report
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The United States has paused plans to impose sanctions on China’s Ministry of State Security to avoid disrupting a fragile trade truce reached earlier this year.
The move comes despite a large-scale cyberespionage campaign linked to Chinese hackers, who allegedly targeted telecommunications companies worldwide and a US state's Army National Guard network in an operation tracked as Salt Typhoon.
According to the report, the administration of President Donald Trump has also decided against implementing major new export controls on China. The decisions were made to preserve the framework agreement negotiated between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on October 30.
The trade truce followed months of tensions triggered by US tariffs on Chinese goods. Under the agreement, Washington committed to withholding 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports. In return, China agreed to delay the introduction of an export licensing regime for key rare earth minerals and magnets.
Despite the significance of the cyber threats, US officials cited in the report said maintaining economic stability took priority in the lead-up to further negotiations.