China's Silicon Valley power play

Chinese officials have summoned top American tech executives to Seattle (WA) for a forum on Sept 23 in a show of force that could make the Obama Administration’s standing in Silicon Valley appear weak by comparison. Beijing moved up the date of the annual event to coincide with President Xi Jinping’s US visit and reportedly pressured major Silicon Valley players to send their chief executives to what is normally an annual summit for midlevel management, threatening regulatory scrutiny if they didn’t comply. “It’s not really voluntary,” said Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Jason Healey, a former director of cyber infrastructure protection at the White House. “They are absolutely expected to be there, and be there in force.”

Business groups and Silicon Valley say they have no choice but to show up. Despite China’s rampant commercial espionage and onerous regulations for foreign firms, the Asian superpower’s market is too powerful to pass up. “It’s not about policy,” said Bay Area-based venture capitalist Ray Rothrock. “It’s about business.”