Fujian Jinhua verdict speaks to DOJ's self-defeating practices

Editor's note: Bradley Blankenship, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a Prague-based American journalist, political analyst, and freelance reporter. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it was pursuing a case against Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, a Chinese state-owned semiconductor company, alleging intellectual property theft and economic espionage. The case revolved around accusations that the company "conspired to steal trade secrets from U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology," a major player in the global semiconductor industry.

Micron accused Fujian Jinhua and its Taiwan partner, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), of stealing intellectual property related to dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) technology. According to the DOJ, Fujian Jinhua intended to use the "stolen" technology to develop its own DRAM chips, thus posing a threat to U.S. economic and national security interests.

The DOJ's case underscored the heightened tensions between the United States and China over technology and trade issues, particularly in the semiconductor sector. The allegations against Fujian Jinhua highlighted concerns about China's efforts to achieve technological self-sufficiency and compete with established industry leaders, raising questions about fair competition, intellectual property rights, and national security implications.

However, on February 27 of this year, a U.S. District Judge found the company not guilty in this case, which highlights the fact that the DOJ's continual cases against China-linked entities related to intellectual property theft have little merit. The prime example of this was the agency's so-called "China Initiative," a program established by the administration of former President Donald Trump aimed at countering economic espionage, intellectual property theft, and other illicit activities allegedly conducted by individuals, companies, and entities linked to the Chinese government. 

Established in response to growing concerns over China's pursuit of technology and intellectual property, the program focused on identifying and prosecuting cases involving economic espionage, trade secret theft, export control violations, and other forms of economic malfeasance allegedly perpetrated by actors with ties to China.

It leveraged the resources and expertise of various DOJ components, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Division (NSD), and U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country, to investigate and prosecute cases involving Chinese nationals, companies, and entities suspected of engaging in illicit activities that undermine U.S. economic and national security interests.

The key objectives of the program were to investigate and prosecute cases involving economic espionage, trade secret theft, and intellectual property infringement perpetrated by Chinese actors. It was also tasked with enhancing cooperation and coordination with other U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Commerce (DoC), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to address threats posed by Chinese economic espionage and illicit technology transfer.

In addition, it sought to strengthen partnerships with foreign allies and international law enforcement agencies to combat transnational economic espionage and intellectual property theft. Finally, it sought to raise awareness among U.S. companies and research institutions about the risks associated with doing business with China and providing guidance on how to safeguard sensitive technology and intellectual property from exploitation.

In the end, the program was closed – though it survived, for some time, the transition to Biden's administration – because it devolved into a racially biased attack on Chinese Americans and others of Chinese origins in the United States, pulled almost directly from the McCarthyist Red Scare era. Scientists of Chinese origin were targeted by investigators simply for having a connection to China and without solid evidence. In fact, several cases were dismissed on this basis. 

Additionally, most of the prosecutions that resulted from the initiative had nothing to do with alleged scientific espionage or intellectual property theft and were instead things like failing to disclose foreign appointments or funding. Former U.S. Energy Secretary and Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu, a professor at Stanford, told Reuters in a 2021 interview that the program endangered America's standing in science by making the U.S. a less attractive place for high-skilled immigrants. This is due to rising anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. and the federal government's targeting of China-linked individuals and firms.

The latest case with Fujian Jinhua is another in a long line of blows to the credibility of the Department of Justice in general, and it will surely serve as a lesson for other Chinese firms in the future that may be unfairly accused of so-called "economic espionage." 

Additionally, in the greater scheme, the DOJ's insistence on pursuing frivolous and oftentimes flimsy cases with scant evidence purely for political reasons and undue paranoia about China will only serve to make the U.S. less competitive technologically and economically. 

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