The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-09)

A12 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, JUNE 9 , 2022

BY ELLEN NAKASHIMA

The Commerce Department on
Wednesday announced it has fro-
zen the export privileges of three
U.S. companies for the illegal
export to China of technical draw-
ings used for 3D printing of satel-
lite, rocket and defense-related
parts.
The issuance Tuesday of what’s
known as a “temporary denial
order,” or TDO, means Quicksil-
ver Manufacturing, Rapid Cut
and U.S. Prototype, all located in
Wilmington, N.C., cannot export
anything for 180 days, Commerce

Department officials said. They

said the investigation is ongoing.

“Outsourcing 3-D printing of

space and defense prototypes to

China harms U.S. national secu-

rity,” Matthew S. Axelrod, assis-

tant secretary for export enforce-

ment at the department’s Bureau

of Industry and Security, said in a

statement. “By sending their cus-

tomers’ technical drawings and

blueprints to China, these compa-

nies may have saved a few bucks

— but they did so at the collective

expense of protecting U.S. mili-

tary technology.”

Peter Lamporte, CEO of the

three companies, declined to

comment Wednesday.

The material is subject to U.S.

export controls because of its

sensitivity and importance to na-

tional security, officials said. The

action marks the first time the

Commerce Department has tak-

en such an enforcement action

against U.S. companies for send-

ing technical drawings to China.

The use of TDOs has been

increasing, with Commerce also

issuing them against Russian air-

lines to punish Moscow for the

invasion of Ukraine. These orders

are some of the most potent civil

actions the agency can issue, offi-

cials said. They can be used not

only to cut off the right of U.S.

companies to export controlled

items, which include everything

from furniture to military-grade

products, but also to bar foreign

companies from exporting U.S.

items, and to prevent foreign

companies from receiving any

U.S. components.

According to the TDO, the

firms collectively used the same

rental mailbox to receive export-

controlled drawings from their

domestic customers with re-

quests to 3D-print them. Without

their customers’ consent or

knowledge, the drawings were

sent to manufacturers in China to

print, without the required li-

cense. The items were then im-

ported into the United States and

shipped to the original custom-

ers.

The information illegally sent

to China included sensitive proto-

type space and defense technol-

ogies, the Commerce Department

said. In one case, a U.S. customer

in May 2021 hired Rapid Cut to

make specially designed parts in-

tended for a rocket platform’s

ground support and test equip-

ment, the TDO said.

The Commerce Department

urged customers of the three

firms to review their records to

see whether intellectual property

or controlled technologies were

provided to the firms.

The Chinese government has

long tapped commercial firms to

develop cutting-edge technol-

ogies that its military needs. This

“military-civil fusion” approach

has been elevated by Chinese

President Xi Jinping to a national

strategy.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.

U.S. freezes export privileges of three firms that sent blueprints to China

BY EVA DOU AND VIC CHIANG

shenzhen, china — Zhu Yong-
tao has spent more than a month
locked down at his high school
here in southern China so he can
take the biggest exam of his life.
On Tuesday morning, under a
light drizzle, he strode into an
exam hall for t he “gaokao,” China’s
notoriously grueling college en-
trance exam.
“I’m still a little bit nervous,
even though we’ve prepared a lot,”
said Zhu, a bespectacled 17-year-
old clad in a blue and white uni-
form. “It’s definitely motivated us,
being l ocked down at s chool for 40
days. We were able to focus on
studying.”
Under China’s strict “zero
covid” policy, even a single posi-
tive case at a school could put
everyone into quarantine. To en-
sure an outbreak wouldn’t derail
college hopes, Zhu’s school and
others across the country sealed
themselves off weeks before the
gaokao, with students and teach-
ers alike barred from leaving c am-
pus.
The pandemic has made this
tough three-day exam even more
challenging. This year, 120 stu-
dents are taking the gaokao in
quarantine centers, and 700 stu-
dents are taking it from some
other sort of lockdown, according
to Chinese publication the Paper,
citing China’s Ministry of Educa-
tion. Twelve coronavirus-positive
students in Beijing, Liaoning and
Sichuan are taking the test from

field hospitals.

With a record 11.93 million stu-

dents taking it this year, the exam

will put a strain on China’s pan-

demic-prevention system, as the

largest mass gathering ahead of a

crucial Chinese Communist Party

congress in the autumn, when

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is ex-

pected t o break precedent by stay-

ing on for a third term.

Local officials are anxiously try-

ing to avoid an outbreak on their

turf ahead of the congress. School

administrators nationwide have

been tasked with doing every-

thing they can to keep the gaokao

from becoming a superspreader

event.

Unlike in the United States,

where college admittance is as-

sessed on a variety of factors, in

China, it largely comes down to

gaokao scores. There’s enormous

pressure for students to do well on

the test, which can affect the rest

of their lives.

“A ll I can do is call my daughter

and tell her to relax,” said a mother

standing outside a Shenzhen

gaokao test site Tuesday m orning,

who gave only her surname, Dai.

“There’s no need to add to her

stress.”

In Shanghai, China’s most pop-

ulous city, the gaokao has been

delayed by a month, as the city

emerges from a traumatic two-

month lockdown.

Many gaokao takers have had

their three years of high school

study repeatedly disrupted by

pandemic lockdowns and periods

of remote learning.

In Shenzhen, a father who only

gave his surname, Peng, worried

that his daughter faced an uphill

battle against high school seniors

in cities that have had fewer lock-

downs.

“This class is especially unfor-

tunate,” Peng said. “They’ve been

taking online classes for three

years. If they have to compete with

students across the country, they

will be at a disadvantage.”

Peng said his daughter was able

to come home for visits only four

times during the school year be-

cause of pandemic restrictions.

On Tuesday morning, he stood

outside the test site to cheer her on

from afar. The buses brought the

masked students directly into the

test center, past the parents stand-

ing outside. Staffers held up signs

to remind pedestrians to keep qui-

et so the students could concen-

trate. A red banner had been

strung along the street median:

“Gaokao is underway. Please

maintain silence.”

The exam covers Chinese, math

and a foreign language for all stu-

dents, with differing sections for

those planning to major in social

or natural sciences. There are

variations from region to region.

The Beijing version o f the e xam

this year includes a choice of three

short essays, one of which is to

write a slogan encouraging social

distancing while waiting in line

for coronavirus tests, according to

the Paper.

A number of Chinese univer-

sities have been operating as

closed campuses this year, even in

cities like Nanjing that were re-

porting zero new coronavirus cas-

es. Student protests over restric-

tions have erupted at some colleg-

es, including at the prestigious

Peking University in the capital.

Students heading to college

next year will be doing so during a

period of flux. In addition to the

covid restrictions, there has been

a government effort to infuse the

curriculum with more patriotic

education. Xi has also called on

universities t o resist following t he

examples of those abroad,

prompting several to opt out of

foreign rankings, which could

have an impact for further stud-

ies.

On Tuesday morning, Lin Liyi,

18, said he believed he was ready

to face the test, despite the chal-

lenges.

“We were locked down at

school for a month,” he said. “It

had a pretty big impact.”

Chiang reported from Taipei, Taiwan.

In China, worries about coronavirus derailing futures

MARK R CRISTINO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

S tudents are cheered on as they enter a school for China’s annual National College Entrance

Examination in Beijing on Tuesday. A record 11.93 million students are taking it this year.

Cohen and Ben-Veniste reflect on the 50th anniversary of

the Watergate break-in and discuss how the subsequent

investigations evolved in Congress and through the

Justice Department.

Listen wherever podcasts are available.

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Inside the Case : Friday, June 10 at 1:00 p.m.

William Cohen

Former Congressman

(R-Maine)

Richard Ben-Veniste

Former Chief

Watergate Task Force