Claims against Chinese tech firms unravel

With Washington testimony from CEOs that no theft found, US case is teetering

With the rise in what some call "techno-nationalism" in the United States, Chinese companies are facing national security accusations by the US on a broad front－from telecom giant Huawei to popular video app TikTok.

However, three of the four CEOs of major US tech companies that testified on Capitol Hill this past week said they had no knowledge of technology theft by China at their businesses. Their responses contrast with the relentless hunt by the US administration for culprits among Chinese tech companies.

The four CEOs－Tim Cook of Apple, Sundar Pichai of Google's parent Alphabet, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook－were asked on Wednesday at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing investigating the practices of major US technology companies whether they believed the Chinese government was stealing intellectual property from US companies.