7 ms·

How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

136 points by KumarAseem 9y ago

vivaforever 9y ago
How US spied anyone's computer? Apple and Microsoft.
anvandare 9y ago
I'd tear down the whole building; as I'd be very surprised if the walls weren't full of bugs as well, similar to the American Embassy case. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/world/the-bugged-embassy-case-what-went-wrong.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/world/the-bugged-embassy-c...
- coconut_crab 9y ago
  China also helped building headquarter for Vietnam Ministry of Public Safety http://mapio.net/pic/p-57003656/ http://mapio.net/pic/p-57003656/ The rumour is that this build is full of bugs in the walls and everywhere, so that the Ministry is still using their old building, the new one is only for unimportant paperwork.
  - dis-sys 9y ago
    welcome to world politics - US sold a Boeing 767 to China which was planned to be used by the Chinese President as the official jet, as expected, it is full of bugs. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1382116/China-finds-spy-bugs-in-Jiangs-Boeing-jet.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1... Australia put bugs in the newly constructed Chinese embassy in Australia's capital back in 1995. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/the-chinese-embassy-bugging-controversy/5079148 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/the-chinese-embassy-bu...
    - TeMPOraL 9y ago
      Idea for political trolling: just once, sell the other country a jet or whatever without a single bug, and laugh as they desperately tear it apart, trying to uncover something.
      - pythonaut_16 9y ago
        Bonus points if you leak the intel/design plans talking about your recent breakthrough in bug technology and how untraceable they'll be now.
- totalZero 9y ago
  > ''The culprit,'' Mr. Schlesinger said, ''is American complacency, the tendency to assume that the Russians are technically inferior to us and that we can handle them.'' This article may be from 1988, but it seems somewhat applicable to current events.
hueving 9y ago
>China built and paid for the African Union’s computer network I guess the old saying applies, "if you aren't paying for it, you are the product."
- dogma1138 9y ago
  China also built the UK government network hopefully the UK, the end result is also likely similar despite the UK paying quite a bit for it. On the works here is for China to build the next generation of nuclear reactors in the UK let’s see how will that turn out.
  - cm2187 9y ago
    And the phone in your pocket storing some of your most sensitive data is most likely built in China.
    - dogma1138 9y ago
      But but but it’s designed in California :(
    - adventured 9y ago
      Most likely not. For example, half of all Samsung phones are now made in Vietnam. China is gradually losing all of Samsung's business. The same will ultimately hold true for Apple. Ten years from now, the only companies that will still be making smartphones in China, will be their domestic brands. http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/8785-samsung-made-vietnam-50-samsung-mobile-phones-made-vietnam http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/8785-sa...
      - konschubert 9y ago
        So weird to read that they are moving production away from China because of high labor costs. Truely the beginning of a new age.
PGenes 9y ago
No free lunches!
gopz 9y ago
> The organisation acquired its own servers, and began encrypting its communication yikes, sounds pretty sloppy from all sides
jarym 9y ago
Once they discovered what was going on they could have had oh so much fun... “Hey Okumbo did you really sell the Chinese an empty diamond mine? Yea that mine be empty and full of baaad spirits.” Ok I’m not the most creative at this stuff but the possibilities could have been endless
whisk 9y ago
It's really embarrassing... for who always call Africans "old friends"
- theandrewbailey 9y ago
  Next, they'll claim that Africa has been part of China since ancient times.
  - Apocryphon 9y ago
    Zheng He's voyages
valugi 9y ago
There is no such thing as a free lunch...
itpanda123 9y ago
Why don't the reporter reveal more details about the "strange peak in data usage"? The news could be less lame if published from a non-formal-colonizer country.
- loooooooooooool 9y ago
  The investigation, in French: https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/01/26/a-addis-abeba-le-siege-de-l-union-africaine-espionne-par-les-chinois_5247521_3212.html https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/01/26/a-addis-ab...
delta1 9y ago
Seems silly to exfiltrate the data during a quiet time instead of a busier time of day where it should go unnoticed? "Hidden in plain sight"
- loooooooooooool 9y ago
  It seems they already learned that lesson. Now.
M_Bakhtiari 9y ago
When will Africa realise that they have to learn to look out for themselves because no-one else will? They declined Europe's "offer" (though realistically Europe really didn't have anything to offer its colonies after being devastated by WWII), but where they that much better off under Soviet influence and are they that much better off under China? It's time they started working towards real independence instead of always trying to chase the next free lunch.
- partycoder 9y ago
  Well that's exactly what the African Union is for. The poverty trap right now is: 1) Loan from the IMF 2) Restructure your debt = privatization = loss of sovereignty and control 3) Repeat The hope is that through a regional central bank, regional investment bank and a regional monetary fund they can break away from the shackles of predatory psycopaths like the IMF and the World Bank. I personally think this will not actually succeed and neocolonial powers will do everything in their power so the union does not succeed. For example, UNASUR, the Latin American equivalent of African Union, is dead on arrival because of corruption. The president pro-tempore, Macri, doesn't seem to be representing regional interests at all.
  - vidarh 9y ago
    The AU seems likely to be a in better spot, in part because it is built on regional "pillars" and a lot of separate organizations, so even if the AU itself for some reason were to fail, it is already having massive impact. E.g. ECOWAS covers 15 countries and ~350 million in West Africa. SADC covers 16 states in Southern Africa etc. COMESA acts as a superset of SADC and EAC, providing a free trade area covering 400m+ people in Southern and Eastern Africa, and so on. A number of monetary unions have started coalescing the currencies of he continent, as well, so even if the progress towards a single African currency were to fail, that too is still having an impact.
    - AnAfrican 9y ago
      the AU is also much older than UNASUR. The OAU was established in 1963 with a very clear mandate towards unification and decolonization. However, the good intentions towards unity had to quickly face the reality of each despot desire to stay in power.
tekkk 9y ago
Seems such a small gain with potentially huge downside with African countries distancing themselves from China. And so sloppily done too...
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  OTOH this may be also seen as evidence that China treats African countries as serious partners - if they didn't, they wouldn't bother with spying.
- coldtea 9y ago
  >Seems such a small gain with potentially huge downside with African countries distancing themselves from China. European countries and the US have been meddling in African countries for centuries, even more blatantly (including directly toppling governments or bringing in their armies) and they have hardly "distanced" themselves from them -- and they'll do that to China for such small peanuts? The population doesn't know better or is kept down, and the leaders do what brings money to their accounts, not to the country.
  - tekkk 9y ago
    Great point. Business as usual. I guess the downsides were heavily subsided by the fact that african countries don't really have much to gain from it nor do they (meaning their leaders) have any will to do so.
  - petroseskinder 9y ago
    > The population doesn't know better or is kept down, and the leaders do what brings money to their accounts, not to the country. This is less the case, and it is more that Chinese spying is peanuts compared to what the West has done and continues to do.
flurdy 9y ago
Not sure what going public with this benefits anyone. They could have covertly leaked missinformation or gain benefits by being in control what is leaked.
toomanybeersies 9y ago
There were concerns with using Huawei equipment in New Zealand for the UFB Network (New Zealand's national fiber optic network) for similar reasons. I can't remember what equipment they ended up using. But all I could think of at the time was that if Huawei and the Chinese weren't spying on us, then Cisco and the US government would be spying on us. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Of course, after Snowden, it was revealed that they were spying on us the whole time, with the NZ government being an enthusiastic participant as one of the Five Eyes nations. They had actually tapped the (only) submarine internet cable running out of New Zealand.
- coldtea 9y ago
  >Of course, after Snowden, it was revealed that they were spying on us the whole time, with the NZ government being an enthusiastic participant as one of the Five Eyes nations. They had actually tapped the (only) submarine internet cable running out of New Zealand. Yep, it's mostly theater -- "oh, those pesky Chinese might spy", when they already give every bit out to others.
dhx 9y ago
Here's a quick sample of some of China's computer donations to parliaments, defense and foreign affairs departments and police and immigration departments in recent years: PNG: http://pg.china-embassy.org/eng/zbgx/t849942.htm http://pg.china-embassy.org/eng/zbgx/t849942.htm Fiji: http://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/Press-Releases/CHINESE-GOVERNMENT-DONATES-EQUIPMENT-TO-DEFENCE-MI.aspx http://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/Press-Releases/CHINESE-G... Botswana: http://bw.china-embassy.org/eng/sbgx/t541543.htm http://bw.china-embassy.org/eng/sbgx/t541543.htm Maldives: http://www.foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/mediacentre/news/2786-chinese-government-donates-computer-systems-to-the-newly-established-fosim http://www.foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/mediacentre/news/2786... Samoa: http://www.samoagovt.ws/2017/01/china-donates-new-computers-for-legislative-assembly/ http://www.samoagovt.ws/2017/01/china-donates-new-computers-... Cambodia: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/03/c_134779443.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/03/c_134779443.htm Mozambique: http://clubofmozambique.com/news/china-donates-100-computers-to-mozambican-parliament/ http://clubofmozambique.com/news/china-donates-100-computers... Sri Lanka: http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Aug05_1501907095CH.php http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Aug05_1501907095CH.ph... Ghana: https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2017/06/07/chinese-embassy-donates-computers-cash-to-attorney-general/ https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2017/06/07/chinese-embassy... Pakistan: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/22/c_136627663.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/22/c_136627663.htm Liberia: http://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=880&related=7&pg=sp http://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=880&related=7&... Zimbabwe: https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16364-article-china+donates+computers,+tvs+and+scanners+to+parliament.html https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16364-a... Laos: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/12/c_136202934.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/12/c_136202934.htm Macedonia: http://arhiva.vlada.mk/?q=node/5196 http://arhiva.vlada.mk/?q=node/5196 Serbia: http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2017-06/21/content_4783395.htm http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2017-06/21/content_4783395.htm Afghanistan: http://www.gov.cn/misc/2007-01/11/content_493797.htm http://www.gov.cn/misc/2007-01/11/content_493797.htm Kyrgyzstan: http://en.people.cn/90001/90776/90883/6776679.html http://en.people.cn/90001/90776/90883/6776679.html Dominica: http://news.gov.dm/index.php/news/536-china-donates-equipment-and-stationery-to-dominica-parliament http://news.gov.dm/index.php/news/536-china-donates-equipmen... Barbados: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/china-gives-barbados-over-us-400-000-in-military-aid http://www.caribbean360.com/news/china-gives-barbados-over-u... Guinea Bissau: http://en.africatime.com/guinee_bissau/articles/china-donates-military-equipment-guinea-bissau http://en.africatime.com/guinee_bissau/articles/china-donate... Moldova: http://www.army.md/index.php/duhovniceti/img/userfiles/info/aquizition/inf/617/inf/kcaptcha/?lng=3&action=show&cat=122&obj=1448 http://www.army.md/index.php/duhovniceti/img/userfiles/info/... Guyana: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/news/stories/11/07/457430/ https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/news/stories/11/07/457430/ Nigeria: http://www.spa.gov.sa/299126 http://www.spa.gov.sa/299126 Malawi: http://en.africatime.com/malawi/articles/malawi-china-donates-computers-immigration-department http://en.africatime.com/malawi/articles/malawi-china-donate... Yemen: http://ye.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/201309/20130900303426.shtml http://ye.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/201309/20130900303426.s... Syria: http://sy.china-embassy.org/chn/xwfb/t790038.htm http://sy.china-embassy.org/chn/xwfb/t790038.htm http://china.aiddata.org/geospatial_dashboard http://china.aiddata.org/geospatial_dashboard and https://www.lowyinstitute.org/chinese-aid-map/ https://www.lowyinstitute.org/chinese-aid-map/ are interactive maps (albeit using older data) showing where donations and aid have ended up. These are just the overt instances where press releases are issued with prime ministers, senior officials and ambassadors shaking hands in front of donated computers and laptops. There has also been research such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GhostNet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GhostNet which is relevant to this discussion. Also very telling is how Western countries are responding. Some recent articles: Verizon no longer selling Huawei phones: http://www.afr.com/news/world/verizon-is-said-to-drop-plans-to-sell-phones-from-chinas-huawei-20180130-h0qgok http://www.afr.com/news/world/verizon-is-said-to-drop-plans-... AT&T no longer selling Huawei phones: http://www.afr.com/news/world/north-america/att-told-to-steer-clear-of-huawei-by-us-congress-20180116-h0jaa7 http://www.afr.com/news/world/north-america/att-told-to-stee... Australia funding a PNG-Solomon Islands-Australia undersea fiber optic cable project to prevent Huawei from getting the contract: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-takes-over-solomon-islands-internet-cable-amid-spies-concerns-about-china-20180125-h0o7yq.html http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/austra...

136 points by KumarAseem 9y ago

How US spied anyone's computer? Apple and Microsoft.

I'd tear down the whole building; as I'd be very surprised if the walls weren't full of bugs as well, similar to the American Embassy case. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/world/the-bugged-embassy-case-what-went-wrong.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/world/the-bugged-embassy-c...

coconut_crab 9y ago
China also helped building headquarter for Vietnam Ministry of Public Safety http://mapio.net/pic/p-57003656/ http://mapio.net/pic/p-57003656/ The rumour is that this build is full of bugs in the walls and everywhere, so that the Ministry is still using their old building, the new one is only for unimportant paperwork.
- dis-sys 9y ago
  welcome to world politics - US sold a Boeing 767 to China which was planned to be used by the Chinese President as the official jet, as expected, it is full of bugs. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1382116/China-finds-spy-bugs-in-Jiangs-Boeing-jet.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1... Australia put bugs in the newly constructed Chinese embassy in Australia's capital back in 1995. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/the-chinese-embassy-bugging-controversy/5079148 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/the-chinese-embassy-bu...
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    Idea for political trolling: just once, sell the other country a jet or whatever without a single bug, and laugh as they desperately tear it apart, trying to uncover something.
    - pythonaut_16 9y ago
      Bonus points if you leak the intel/design plans talking about your recent breakthrough in bug technology and how untraceable they'll be now.
totalZero 9y ago
> ''The culprit,'' Mr. Schlesinger said, ''is American complacency, the tendency to assume that the Russians are technically inferior to us and that we can handle them.'' This article may be from 1988, but it seems somewhat applicable to current events.

hueving 9y ago

>China built and paid for the African Union’s computer network I guess the old saying applies, "if you aren't paying for it, you are the product."

dogma1138 9y ago
China also built the UK government network hopefully the UK, the end result is also likely similar despite the UK paying quite a bit for it. On the works here is for China to build the next generation of nuclear reactors in the UK let’s see how will that turn out.
- cm2187 9y ago
  And the phone in your pocket storing some of your most sensitive data is most likely built in China.
  - dogma1138 9y ago
    But but but it’s designed in California :(
  - adventured 9y ago
    Most likely not. For example, half of all Samsung phones are now made in Vietnam. China is gradually losing all of Samsung's business. The same will ultimately hold true for Apple. Ten years from now, the only companies that will still be making smartphones in China, will be their domestic brands. http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/8785-samsung-made-vietnam-50-samsung-mobile-phones-made-vietnam http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/8785-sa...
    - konschubert 9y ago
      So weird to read that they are moving production away from China because of high labor costs. Truely the beginning of a new age.

PGenes 9y ago

No free lunches!

gopz 9y ago

> The organisation acquired its own servers, and began encrypting its communication yikes, sounds pretty sloppy from all sides

jarym 9y ago

Once they discovered what was going on they could have had oh so much fun... “Hey Okumbo did you really sell the Chinese an empty diamond mine? Yea that mine be empty and full of baaad spirits.” Ok I’m not the most creative at this stuff but the possibilities could have been endless

whisk 9y ago

It's really embarrassing... for who always call Africans "old friends"

theandrewbailey 9y ago
Next, they'll claim that Africa has been part of China since ancient times.
- Apocryphon 9y ago
  Zheng He's voyages

valugi 9y ago

There is no such thing as a free lunch...

itpanda123 9y ago

Why don't the reporter reveal more details about the "strange peak in data usage"? The news could be less lame if published from a non-formal-colonizer country.

loooooooooooool 9y ago
The investigation, in French: https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/01/26/a-addis-abeba-le-siege-de-l-union-africaine-espionne-par-les-chinois_5247521_3212.html https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/01/26/a-addis-ab...

delta1 9y ago

Seems silly to exfiltrate the data during a quiet time instead of a busier time of day where it should go unnoticed? "Hidden in plain sight"

loooooooooooool 9y ago
It seems they already learned that lesson. Now.

M_Bakhtiari 9y ago

When will Africa realise that they have to learn to look out for themselves because no-one else will? They declined Europe's "offer" (though realistically Europe really didn't have anything to offer its colonies after being devastated by WWII), but where they that much better off under Soviet influence and are they that much better off under China? It's time they started working towards real independence instead of always trying to chase the next free lunch.

partycoder 9y ago
Well that's exactly what the African Union is for. The poverty trap right now is: 1) Loan from the IMF 2) Restructure your debt = privatization = loss of sovereignty and control 3) Repeat The hope is that through a regional central bank, regional investment bank and a regional monetary fund they can break away from the shackles of predatory psycopaths like the IMF and the World Bank. I personally think this will not actually succeed and neocolonial powers will do everything in their power so the union does not succeed. For example, UNASUR, the Latin American equivalent of African Union, is dead on arrival because of corruption. The president pro-tempore, Macri, doesn't seem to be representing regional interests at all.
- vidarh 9y ago
  The AU seems likely to be a in better spot, in part because it is built on regional "pillars" and a lot of separate organizations, so even if the AU itself for some reason were to fail, it is already having massive impact. E.g. ECOWAS covers 15 countries and ~350 million in West Africa. SADC covers 16 states in Southern Africa etc. COMESA acts as a superset of SADC and EAC, providing a free trade area covering 400m+ people in Southern and Eastern Africa, and so on. A number of monetary unions have started coalescing the currencies of he continent, as well, so even if the progress towards a single African currency were to fail, that too is still having an impact.
  - AnAfrican 9y ago
    the AU is also much older than UNASUR. The OAU was established in 1963 with a very clear mandate towards unification and decolonization. However, the good intentions towards unity had to quickly face the reality of each despot desire to stay in power.

tekkk 9y ago

Seems such a small gain with potentially huge downside with African countries distancing themselves from China. And so sloppily done too...

TeMPOraL 9y ago
OTOH this may be also seen as evidence that China treats African countries as serious partners - if they didn't, they wouldn't bother with spying.
coldtea 9y ago
>Seems such a small gain with potentially huge downside with African countries distancing themselves from China. European countries and the US have been meddling in African countries for centuries, even more blatantly (including directly toppling governments or bringing in their armies) and they have hardly "distanced" themselves from them -- and they'll do that to China for such small peanuts? The population doesn't know better or is kept down, and the leaders do what brings money to their accounts, not to the country.
- tekkk 9y ago
  Great point. Business as usual. I guess the downsides were heavily subsided by the fact that african countries don't really have much to gain from it nor do they (meaning their leaders) have any will to do so.
- petroseskinder 9y ago
  > The population doesn't know better or is kept down, and the leaders do what brings money to their accounts, not to the country. This is less the case, and it is more that Chinese spying is peanuts compared to what the West has done and continues to do.

flurdy 9y ago

Not sure what going public with this benefits anyone. They could have covertly leaked missinformation or gain benefits by being in control what is leaked.

toomanybeersies 9y ago

There were concerns with using Huawei equipment in New Zealand for the UFB Network (New Zealand's national fiber optic network) for similar reasons. I can't remember what equipment they ended up using. But all I could think of at the time was that if Huawei and the Chinese weren't spying on us, then Cisco and the US government would be spying on us. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Of course, after Snowden, it was revealed that they were spying on us the whole time, with the NZ government being an enthusiastic participant as one of the Five Eyes nations. They had actually tapped the (only) submarine internet cable running out of New Zealand.

coldtea 9y ago
>Of course, after Snowden, it was revealed that they were spying on us the whole time, with the NZ government being an enthusiastic participant as one of the Five Eyes nations. They had actually tapped the (only) submarine internet cable running out of New Zealand. Yep, it's mostly theater -- "oh, those pesky Chinese might spy", when they already give every bit out to others.

dhx 9y ago

Here's a quick sample of some of China's computer donations to parliaments, defense and foreign affairs departments and police and immigration departments in recent years: PNG: http://pg.china-embassy.org/eng/zbgx/t849942.htm http://pg.china-embassy.org/eng/zbgx/t849942.htm Fiji: http://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/Press-Releases/CHINESE-GOVERNMENT-DONATES-EQUIPMENT-TO-DEFENCE-MI.aspx http://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/Press-Releases/CHINESE-G... Botswana: http://bw.china-embassy.org/eng/sbgx/t541543.htm http://bw.china-embassy.org/eng/sbgx/t541543.htm Maldives: http://www.foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/mediacentre/news/2786-chinese-government-donates-computer-systems-to-the-newly-established-fosim http://www.foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/mediacentre/news/2786... Samoa: http://www.samoagovt.ws/2017/01/china-donates-new-computers-for-legislative-assembly/ http://www.samoagovt.ws/2017/01/china-donates-new-computers-... Cambodia: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/03/c_134779443.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/03/c_134779443.htm Mozambique: http://clubofmozambique.com/news/china-donates-100-computers-to-mozambican-parliament/ http://clubofmozambique.com/news/china-donates-100-computers... Sri Lanka: http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Aug05_1501907095CH.php http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Aug05_1501907095CH.ph... Ghana: https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2017/06/07/chinese-embassy-donates-computers-cash-to-attorney-general/ https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2017/06/07/chinese-embassy... Pakistan: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/22/c_136627663.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/22/c_136627663.htm Liberia: http://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=880&related=7&pg=sp http://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=880&related=7&... Zimbabwe: https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16364-article-china+donates+computers,+tvs+and+scanners+to+parliament.html https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16364-a... Laos: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/12/c_136202934.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/12/c_136202934.htm Macedonia: http://arhiva.vlada.mk/?q=node/5196 http://arhiva.vlada.mk/?q=node/5196 Serbia: http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2017-06/21/content_4783395.htm http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2017-06/21/content_4783395.htm Afghanistan: http://www.gov.cn/misc/2007-01/11/content_493797.htm http://www.gov.cn/misc/2007-01/11/content_493797.htm Kyrgyzstan: http://en.people.cn/90001/90776/90883/6776679.html http://en.people.cn/90001/90776/90883/6776679.html Dominica: http://news.gov.dm/index.php/news/536-china-donates-equipment-and-stationery-to-dominica-parliament http://news.gov.dm/index.php/news/536-china-donates-equipmen... Barbados: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/china-gives-barbados-over-us-400-000-in-military-aid http://www.caribbean360.com/news/china-gives-barbados-over-u... Guinea Bissau: http://en.africatime.com/guinee_bissau/articles/china-donates-military-equipment-guinea-bissau http://en.africatime.com/guinee_bissau/articles/china-donate... Moldova: http://www.army.md/index.php/duhovniceti/img/userfiles/info/aquizition/inf/617/inf/kcaptcha/?lng=3&action=show&cat=122&obj=1448 http://www.army.md/index.php/duhovniceti/img/userfiles/info/... Guyana: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/news/stories/11/07/457430/ https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/news/stories/11/07/457430/ Nigeria: http://www.spa.gov.sa/299126 http://www.spa.gov.sa/299126 Malawi: http://en.africatime.com/malawi/articles/malawi-china-donates-computers-immigration-department http://en.africatime.com/malawi/articles/malawi-china-donate... Yemen: http://ye.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/201309/20130900303426.shtml http://ye.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/201309/20130900303426.s... Syria: http://sy.china-embassy.org/chn/xwfb/t790038.htm http://sy.china-embassy.org/chn/xwfb/t790038.htm http://china.aiddata.org/geospatial_dashboard http://china.aiddata.org/geospatial_dashboard and https://www.lowyinstitute.org/chinese-aid-map/ https://www.lowyinstitute.org/chinese-aid-map/ are interactive maps (albeit using older data) showing where donations and aid have ended up. These are just the overt instances where press releases are issued with prime ministers, senior officials and ambassadors shaking hands in front of donated computers and laptops. There has also been research such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GhostNet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GhostNet which is relevant to this discussion. Also very telling is how Western countries are responding. Some recent articles: Verizon no longer selling Huawei phones: http://www.afr.com/news/world/verizon-is-said-to-drop-plans-to-sell-phones-from-chinas-huawei-20180130-h0qgok http://www.afr.com/news/world/verizon-is-said-to-drop-plans-... AT&T no longer selling Huawei phones: http://www.afr.com/news/world/north-america/att-told-to-steer-clear-of-huawei-by-us-congress-20180116-h0jaa7 http://www.afr.com/news/world/north-america/att-told-to-stee... Australia funding a PNG-Solomon Islands-Australia undersea fiber optic cable project to prevent Huawei from getting the contract: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-takes-over-solomon-islands-internet-cable-amid-spies-concerns-about-china-20180125-h0o7yq.html http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/austra...