Posted on 04/18/2004 12:43:49 PM PDT by Paul Ross
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Insight on the News - World
Issue: 11/12/02
China Makes Spying A Company Policy
By Scott L. Wheeler
A U.S. high-tech firm bought in 1995 with Clinton-administration approval by a consortium that included two Chinese companies is proving to be a threat to U.S. national security, according to senior government analysts. The Anderson, Ind., based Magnequench Inc. was bought by the San Huan New Materials and Hi-Tech Co. of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which was started and still is partially owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. It teamed in this venture with a Hong Kong investment house and a U.S. firm to form Magnequench International, which since has bought out at least one U.S. national laboratory spin-off company and has been project partner with another lab.
"The company is little more than a front for the PRC," a senior government analyst tells Insight. The official insists that the PRC owners of Magnequench are using its status as a U.S. company to obtain "state-of-the-art and emerging technology and transfer it to the PRC.
It's just another form of espionage."
Magnequench itself is a General Motors (GM) spin-off company that produces rare-earth permanent magnets that have practical uses in electric motors. But these magnets also are used in advanced military equipment such as magnetic bearings in high-performance gas-turbine engines and in permanent-magnet submarine-propulsion systems, and are a key component in missile-guidance systems. The concerns expressed by the senior government analyst are that the technology and equipment used to produce the permanent magnets here in the United States would not be allowed for export to the PRC. But, because Magnequench supposedly is a U.S. company owned partly by a Chinese company, there is no control over how the technology is used. And the source indicates the technology is being used to enhance the PRC's production capabilities. "They have already duplicated the existing manufacturing line in China," the source tells Insight.
The chairman of Magnequench is Hong Zhang, who also is chairman of San Huan. The company's president and chief executive officer, Archibald Cox Jr., tells Insight that he did not believe his Chinese partners posed a threat. "There is no story about China stealing technology," he says. Cox points out that since a recent realignment of the corporate structure, "San Huan's stake is only 20 percent now." He also acknowledges, though, that there was no wall of security protecting U.S.-developed technology from Magnequench's Chinese partners.
The senior government official says that the activities of Magnequench since the 1995 buyout by the Chinese companies point to an aggressive pursuit of U.S. high-technology in rare-earth permanent magnets. In 1998 Magnequench acquired a small company formed by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), a U.S. national laboratory. This company, GA Powders, was put together by two scientists who had developed an atomization process to aid in the production of high-tech neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets while they worked at INEEL.
The U.S. national labs have been identified by U.S. counterintelligence as targets of PRC espionage attempts especially the Los Alamos National Laboratory where the government says the theft of the nuclear W-88 warhead design occurred through a series of espionage efforts by the PRC.
The senior government analyst who is monitoring Magnequench says that by acquiring GA Powders the company has gained new technology developed at one of the nation's most important labs. "The Idaho lab is where some of the most exotic work is done on new materials, including ordnance and other materials used in advanced manufacturing.
It is a tremendous security issue." Indeed, in an internal newsletter the Sandia National Laboratory also has reported working on a joint project with Magnequench involving rare-earth magnets. The newsletter quotes a Sandia scientist involved in the project as saying, "Enabling aspects include advanced electrical controls [and] new magnet technology." The senior government analyst calls the project "a disturbing partnership."
In March 2000, Magnequench International announced that it would open "Magnequench Tianjin Co. Ltd., a new neodymium-powder plant, in Tianjin, China. This plant opening will locate the production of neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnetic powder close to the source of raw materials." The senior government analyst says this fits a pattern for the PRC: "They seem to be cloning whatever they do at Magnequench USA in China."
When the consortium composed of two PRC companies and one U.S. company teamed up to buy Magnequench in 1995, the deal had to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Chaired by the secretary of the Treasury, CFIUS is an interagency committee responsible for conducting thorough reviews of foreign companies attempting to purchase stakes in U.S. companies. Once notified of a foreign interest in a U.S. company, CFIUS determines whether the foreign interest would pose a threat to national security. The 1988 Exon-Florio provision to the Defense Production Act gives the president the authority to restrict a foreign company from investing in a U.S. company if it poses a national-security risk.
Such occasions are rare, but they do occur. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush ordered the state-owned China National Aerospace Technology Import and Export Corp. (CATIC) to divest its interest in the Seattle-based MAMCO Manufacturing Inc. CFIUS allegedly had approved the deal and CATIC already had taken over MAMCO when the president stepped in and gave CATIC 90 days to divest. After six months CATIC still had not sold its interest in MAMCO, so the Treasury Department placed the company in the hands of American trustees and restricted CATIC's access to the company until it could be extricated from its financial stake in MAMCO.
CFIUS would not discuss the MAMCO case or any other reviews it conducts, but a source who at the time provided the president with an analysis of the firm tells Insight that "even though MAMCO had no U.S. defense contracts" the machine tools in the MAMCO shop "could significantly increase the PRC's military capability." Five years after President George H.W. Bush ordered CATIC to divest its interest in MAMCO on the basis of a national-security threat, say well-placed sources, the Magnequench deal sailed right through the foreign-investment review process with only a few dissenters from the defense establishment. President Bill Clinton showed no interest in exercising his authority to order the Chinese company to divest Magnequench under the Exon-Florio provision initiated by Democrats in Congress.
"Magnequench is a greater threat" than MAMCO, says the senior government analyst. "The danger is manifold it gives the Chinese the ability to produce very reliable servos and actuators." Servos are small, powerful motors "critical to advanced weapons systems." Another U.S. official tells Insight that the servos and actuators are used for "missiles, rockets and precision-guided bombs." The senior government analyst tells Insight that the Magnequench technology being transferred to China has a bifurcated risk: "It enables them to produce super-high-quality rare-earth magnets/ring magnets for use in gas centrifuges to produce nuclear-weapons material. And in addition to enhancing their own nuclear-weapons program we know that China has already proliferated ring magnets to Pakistan, which played a critical role in developing Pakistan's nuclear weapons."
In February 1996 the Washington Times reported that the CIA "has uncovered new evidence China has violated U.S. antiproliferation laws by exporting nuclear-weapons technology to Pakistan." It later was confirmed by Congress that military-industrial companies in China had sold 5,000 ring magnets to Pakistan.
Proponents of even more-liberalized trade with China often point to economic successes in joint projects which they say have pried open the bamboo curtain and promoted better relations with the PRC. Defense experts, on the other hand, point to China's nuclear-weapons program and related proliferation of weapons technology and say these relations may come at a higher cost to national security and, in time, even of millions of lives.
Scott L. Wheeler is a reporter for Insight.
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This will not end well.
Magnetics Business & Technology Magazine |
Magnetics: Industry Overview
China Mag 2002 confirms China's dominance in magnetic materials
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By Walt Benecki On October 15-18, 2002, Intertech sponsored "China Mag 2002" in Beijing, China. Over 200 delegates representing 21 countries participated in the conference, which included three pre-conference workshops and concluded with a day of interesting research facility and factory tours. The keynote address for the conference was delivered by Mr. Wang, Zheng-Xi, Chairman and President, Beijing ZhongKe San Huan Hi-Tech Co. Ltd. Mr. Wang reviewed the phenomenal growth of the Chinese Rare Earth magnet industry over the past twenty years. This industry has been demonstrating a growth rate of approximately 25% per year and in 2001, over 130 NdFeB magnet factories in China produced 7,800 tons of NdFeB magnets, replacing Japan as the leading producing country in the world. Numerous Chinese suppliers now routinely produce 40-45 MGOe products and ZhongKe San Huan is now in commercial production of N50 material. Mr. Wang also reported that over 30 factories in China are now producing bonded NdFeB magnets and China's total output of these magnets has increased from 180 tons in 1998 to 620 tons in 2001. Mr. Wang concluded that China will not only be the largest magnet producing nation in the world, but will also be the largest consumer of magnets in the world. This status will not only be driven by China's large domestic consumer market, but by the massive transition of western production operations moving into China. Archibald Cox Jr., President and CEO of Magnequench Inc. outlined his company's transition of NdFeB powder production to China and reported that Magnequench's new operation in Tianjin is in full operation and producing excellent and consistent quality NdFeB powder. Mr. Cox reported that he expected some segments of the magnet market to exhibit double-digit growth in 2002, particularly in Asia. Mr. Cox commented that western manufacturers cannot anticipate "business as usual" and that there will be continued pressure to re-evaluate business models, relocate, consolidate and otherwise achieve reduced cost structures. Mr. Cox also commented that, as certain NdFeB patents begin to expire in the next few years, patent issues may indeed become far more complex and challenging. Mr. Terry Clagett, President and CEO of WebMagnetics Inc. attempted the daunting task of quantifying the worldwide supply, demand and pricing trends for hard and soft magnetic materials. Mr. Clagett concluded that the worldwide 2001 market for magnetic materials (excluding silicon steel) was $7.35 billion. Mr. Clagett suggested that an organization with international scope, such as The International Magnetics Association (IMA) might eventually develop a reliable data base of worldwide industry statistics. Mr. Clagett acknowledged the dominance of China in magnetic materials and concluded that, although many producers are laboring under the pressure of rapidly declining prices, "The magnet industry is alive and well". Mr. Zhang, Licheng, Vice President of International Business, BGRIMM, reviewed the status of China's hard ferrite industry. Mr. Zhang observed that, in 2001, China accounted for over 33% of the worldwide production of sintered hard ferrite magnets. Over the past 20 years, China's hard ferrite production has enjoyed an average growth rate of 9.2% per year. Growth has actually accelerated in the 1990's to about 13% per year. Mr. Zhang observed that China now dominates speaker ring production and he predicted a similar trend will occur for hard ferrite motor arcs in the next 3-5 years. Mr. Zhu, Mingyue, Vice President & General Manager, Rhodia China summarized the status of China's rare earth oxide industry, representing 170 plants that produced approximately 180,000 tons of rare earth oxide in 2001. Mr. Zhu reported on a planned industry restructuring that has the following four objectives: (1) Improved control of upstream raw materials, (2) Achievement of better economic scale of production, (3) Increased price levels, and (4) A move toward the high end of the rare earth value chain. This restructuring is not fully endorsed by all production groups, therefore its transition is likely to take a number of years to fully implement. Mr. Zhu forecasted that the rare earth industry will likely grow over 10% per year as compared to China's anticipated GNP growth rate of 7%. Mr. Wang, Jue, Director, Jinning Sanhuan Hi-Technology Magnetic Industrial Co. reported on the rapid development of China's soft ferrite industry. Mr. Wang predicted that China will achieve manufacturing superiority in soft ferrite production. Indeed, this segment of China's magnetic materials industry is currently experiencing explosive growth, with production doubling from 30,000 tons in 1995 to 60,000 tons in 2000. In 2000, China's production mix was 40,000 tons of MnZn, 15,000 tons of MgZn and 5,000 tons of NiZn materials. Mr. Wang discussed the industry's progress in developing lower power loss and higher permeability products. He felt that significant quality advancements are now assured since Baosteel adopted the Ruthner process during the mid-1990's for the production of high quality desilconized iron oxide. An informative presentation was delivered by Mr. John Nellesson, President, All Magnetics, entitled "Why Not Start a Magnet Factory in China?" Mr. Nellesson outlined, in considerable detail, the procedures, challenges, costs and risks associated with establishing a wholly-owned foreign enterprise in Mainland China. Mr. Xiao, YaoFu, from Beijing Kequang Magnetic Material Co. Ltd., provided an update of his company's development of anisotropic NdFeB powders for bonded magnets. Mr. Xiao reported on a "NdFeBCoZrGa" material that exhibits lower irreversible losses and reduced temperature coefficients when compared to basic NdFeB HDDR material. Beijing Kequang is currently in a pilot plant stage of development and expects to be in commercial production with a capacity of 100 tons per year by 2004. Finally, an excellent overview of China's soft magnetic alloy industry was offered by Mr. Chen, Wenzhi, Advanced Technology & Materials Co. (ATM), Amorphous Product Division. ATM is the dominant producer of amorphous ribbon in China, with an annual capacity of 1,000 tons and the capability to produce ribbon up to 220 mm wide. China's total output of amorphous products increased from under 200 tons in 1995 to over 900 tons in 2000. Mr. Chen predicted that China's production and utilization of both amorphous and nanocrystalline materials will grow very rapidly over the next five years. Walt Benecki is the former president of Group Arnold and a past president of the Magnetic Materials Producers Association. Walt has established a consulting practice specializing in operations management, industry analysis, acquisitions, dispositions and strategic alliances. Contact him at waltbenecki@aol.com.
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How the Chinese Communist Government
Influenced the American Politcal System
Chart by Edward Timperlake, William C. Triplett,
http://web.archive.org/web/20000519073024/actionworks.org/graphics/charts/china.gif
I had this problem the first time around.
70% of America gets it's news by watching TV
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And no, its not treason. This is research being conducted in the competitive market. It's just that the Chinese have made the decision to do it. We haven't. I was part of a group that about 10 years ago made a pitch to NASA (at the time Lewis Research Center, now Glenn Research Center) to expand the work being done on the old SP-100 space reactor system, making it a part of a larger program involving ion propulsion. Instead, when Clinton came into office, the whole program was trashed (I think because it involved nuclear systems, and Hillary! hates nukes). So the Chinese stepped up to the plate and are carrying the ball. We're on the sidelines (again). I really think some of the politicians and NASA managers think when the time comes we can just buy the technology from the Chinese. Have I got news for them...
I can only find eleven here. Who's the 12th member?
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