FirstFT: US and UK accuse China of extensive hacking campaign

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Good morning. The US and UK have unveiled sweeping measures against hackers backed by China’s government, alleging they carried out extensive cyber attacks against targets across Washington and Westminster.

The US Department of Justice yesterday indicted seven Chinese nationals who it said were members of APT31, a Wuhan-based hacking group run by China’s main spy service.

The indictment alleges that the group sent more than 10,000 “malicious” emails with hidden tracking links to officials across the federal government, businesses “of national economic importance” including defence, and Capitol Hill.

The campaign lasted years and targets included international critics of China’s government, including 43 UK parliamentary accounts, the DoJ alleged.

The UK said the Chinese hackers were behind two malicious cyber campaigns on Britain’s elections watchdog and parliamentarians, as the government announced sanctions in response. Here’s more on the alleged Chinese espionage campaign and the US-UK response.

And here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Japan publishes the February services producer price index, while South Korea releases its consumer sentiment index for March.

• Israel-US relations: Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant meets his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington. Yesterday, Israel cancelled a separate high-level visit to Washington after the UN Security Council passed its first resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

• China-Netherlands ties: Dutch PM Mark Rutte begins a two-day visit to China where he’ll meet President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: Chinese social media sensation Xiaohongshu has seen its growing popularity lead to profits for the first time, as the Instagram-like platform brings in revenues from advertising and a nascent ecommerce business. The fast-growing social media start-up is an increasingly important channel for brands targeting young women with purchasing power — and a rare recent success story in China’s tech sector.

2. Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun is to step down at the end of the year as the US aircraft manufacturer struggles to contain a crisis over its safety standards. The management shake-up caps weeks of turmoil for Boeing after a door panel blew out mid-air during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

3. A New York appeals court has allowed Donald Trump to post just $175mn to delay enforcement of a $464mn fraud judgment. The order gives the former US president a reprieve even as a judge in a separate court scheduled an April 15 start date for his criminal trial over the alleged cover-up of “hush money” payments to an adult film star.

4. Sales of Ferraris in Taiwan have doubled in the past four years, bolstered by the growing wealth of the country’s chip entrepreneurs. The carmaker’s chief executive Benedetto Vigna told the FT that demand in Taiwan was growing faster than in China or Hong Kong because of a sharp rise in supercar sales to the country’s increasingly wealthy citizens.

5. Nigeria has charged Binance and two of its executives with tax evasion, including one that escaped custody. The charges mark the latest twist in Binance’s protracted dispute with Nigerian authorities as the government steps up scrutiny of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which is unregulated in Nigeria.

• More crypto news: FTX is on track to repay its customers up to two-fifths more than the initial value of their claims as administrators for the collapsed exchange capitalise on surging prices of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence assets.

The Big Read

Once an investment backwater, infrastructure has become a favoured area for pension funds seeking yields and protection against market volatility. Infrastructure assets under management worldwide have soared beyond $1tn, more than six times their level in 2008, according to data provider Preqin, with early movers profiting from unloved assets. But as asset prices and interest rates rise, windfalls have become harder to achieve.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Beware AI euphoria: We are at the very early stages of a highly complex multi-decade transformation that is by no means a done deal, writes Rana Foroohar.

• The rise of identity geopolitics: What is it that causes some tragedies and conflicts to command the world’s attention and others to pass almost unnoticed? Gideon Rachman investigates.

• Neurodiversity in the workplace: Employers find staff often cite conditions such as autism and ADHD during performance management reviews. The complexity of the issue has spurred some employers to seek outside help.

Map of the day

US claims to a swath of mineral-rich seabed are being challenged by China and Russia because Washington has failed to ratify a treaty that governs access to resources in international waters.

Take a break from the news

Jui Chakravorty goes on a culinary journey across India — in Tokyo. From the southern seaport town of Mangaluru to a bucolic village near the Bay of Bengal, these five spots in the Japanese capital showcase the subcontinent’s cuisine in all its glorious variety.

Additional contributions from Grace Ramos and Gordon Smith