Analysis | Tweeter-in-chief ready to confront China’s ‘great firewall’

America’s tweeter-in-chief is set to face off bit-to-bit against China’s “great firewall.”

President Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing today will serve as a test of reach for his preferred 140-character communications tool.

The White House is declining to comment on the president’s ability to tweet in China or the precautions being taken to protect his communications in the heavily monitored state. It’s about more than cybersecurity. Knowing the president’s penchant for showmanship, some aides are trying to build up social media suspense before Air Force One is wheels-down in Beijing.

Spoiler alert: The American president will get his way. Multiple officials familiar with the procedures in place but unauthorized to discuss them publicly said the president will, in fact, be able to tweet in China.

Twitter is blocked for domestic users in China, but foreigners have had success accessing the social media service while using data roaming services that connect to their home cellular networks.

For an American president, it’s not that straightforward. Securing the president’s communications — and tweets — in China requires satellites, sophisticated electronics and the work of hundreds on multiple continents.

Trump, like his predecessor, has a secure cell phone, though he uses it more for tweeting than phone calls. He’s sent at least two dozen tweets in the first four days of his trip to Asia. Developed in collaboration between the National Security Agency and Secret Service, it has some regular functionality disabled to protect from hacking. But China poses a distinct challenge: Merely turning it on there is a security risk, as China’s cellular network is believed to be entirely compromised by its security services.

Several former administration officials said they did not recall whether President Barack Obama brought his cell phone to China. The White House declined to say whether Trump would be bringing his phone on the trip, but tweets sent by him since he’s departed Washington are marked as being sent from an iPhone.

Chinese officials appeared to recognize the importance of the medium to their guest. Asked whether Trump would be able to tweet from Beijing, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang told reporters last week: “We take everything into account on receiving foreign heads of state so you should have no reservations about Mr. President’s ability to keep in touch with the outside.”

But officials said it would hardly be up to China, as it would be inconceivable for Trump’s device to ever reach a Chinese network.

The White House maintains an ever-updating set of policies and regulations for overseas travel. According to current and former White House staffers, officials are sometimes issued new devices specifically for foreign trips. Their phone numbers and emails are forwarded to the new devices for the duration of the overseas stint, then shifted back to their stateside devices once they return. The phones used on the trip are returned to the White House IT office for inspection.

In the event the trip is to a high-risk cyber-espionage location, such as China, Israel or Cuba, aides are given extensive briefings on cybersecurity. Among the precautions: Aides are strongly discouraged from turning on their devices in the offending country.

Former White House press secretary Josh Earnest recalled that security protocols changed frequently during the Obama administration, but that aides were encouraged to leave their personal devices on Air Force One.

“While in the country, we were encouraged to bring everything with us whenever we left the room, even for short periods” such as a gym visit, Earnest said. “And, we were told never to use hotel provided Wi-Fi.”

But, Earnest added, it “seems reasonable that these safeguards are easy to put in place for Trump’s phone.”

The White House Communications Agency, a 1,200-person military command, is responsible for the president’s global communications needs. The primary role is to maintain communications for critical defense purposes, like emergency communications with military commanders. In every presidential motorcade, for instance, an armored SUV codenamed Road Runner provides for a connection to an array of military and Secret Service communications networks. Abroad, it also enables mundane presidential traffic, like tweets.

On a trip, the WHCA, along with the White House situation room staff, maintains a secure communications suite at the presidential hotel for use by presidential staff. It includes both secure and unsecured phones, as well as access to the White House Wi-Fi network. It is swept routinely for spying devices and guarded 24/7. Overseas, “we’d have to be extra vigilant about confining classified — and even personal — discussions to this suite,” recalled Ned Price, a former CIA analyst who worked as a spokesman for Obama’s National Security Council. Zeke Miller, Washington, AP

North Korea, trade deficit on agenda of visit

President Donald Trump’s agenda in Beijing is expected to be led by the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and demands that China do more to balance trade with America.

Trump’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping will be grander than their informal April talks at Trump’s Mar-a- Lago resort in Florida. That visit was most memorable for Trump informing Xi about ordering a missile strike on Syria while they ate a dessert of chocolate cake.

Officials from both sides say Trump has forged a personal connection with Xi, and Chinese officials have said they expect the leaders to continue to have “in-depth, constructive, friendly and productive” talks.

NORTH KOREA

China is North Korea’s chief trading partner and source of aid and diplomatic support, and Trump has pressed for Beijing to take more forceful measures against Pyongyang.

China has already agreed to tough new U.N. penalties that would substantially cut foreign revenue for the isolated North. It has ordered North Korean- owned businesses and ventures with Chinese partners to close by early January. China also has promised to cut off gas and limit shipments of refined petroleum products, effective Jan. 1.

Beijing, however, adamantly opposes steps that could bring down North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s government.

TRADE

Trump wants to narrow China’s trade surplus with the United States, which stood at USD347 billion in 2016, but has yet to say what he might propose this week.

Washington has raised duties on Chinese goods including stainless steel and plywood to offset what it says are improper subsidies and is investigating whether Beijing improperly pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.

Some American companies worry that Trump’s focus on trade in goods might mean he pays too little attention to other issues such as Chinese rules that limit their presence in finance, health care and other service industries.

SOUTH CHINA SEA

China and the U.S. are at odds over Beijing’s military buildup, island-building and assertive claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Washington has criticized such moves and says it has a national interest in freedom of navigation in sea lanes critical for world trade. Tillerson said last month that China’s “provocative actions” in the waters are a challenge to international law and norms.

But China says the U.S. has no territorial claim in those waters and should let countries in the region manage their own disputes.

MARKET ACCESS

The American Chamber of Commerce in China wants Beijing to ease market barriers such as limits on foreign ownership of enterprises in finance and other industries.

The chamber has called for faster approval of new seeds and agriculture-related biotechnology. Foreign business groups express concern that Chinese plans for government-led development of electric cars and other technology will limit their presence in emerging industries.

OPIOIDS

Trump has said he will make China’s connection to the U.S. opioid crisis a major theme of his talks.

Chinese officials have disputed Trump’s claim that the opioid fentanyl, which is flooding the U.S., is produced mostly in China. China doesn’t deny that some fentanyl produced illicitly inside the country makes its way to the United States, but officials say there is no data proving the majority of fentanyl used in the U.S. comes from China.

Trump said last month that the U.S. was stepping up measures to curb the flow of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. He has said he would mention it to Xi.

“And he will do something about it,” Trump said. AP