Chinese state media rebuke Mark Zuckerberg over reported plan to sell Quest headsets

A Chinese state-controlled media outlet published a harsh critique of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg connected Wednesday, accusing the billionaire of fundamentally "shooting himself successful the foot" erstwhile it came to the Chinese markets.

The editorial, published by a WeChat relationship affiliated with the Beijing Daily, comes aft The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta was successful continued conversations with Tencent to merchantability Meta's enactment of Quest headsets wrong mainland China.

The editorial, translated from Mandarin, says that Zuckerberg's past criticisms of Chinese companies, including ByteDance's TikTok, fundamentally magnitude to self-sabotage of his efforts to merchantability successful China. Zuckerberg has been a professional of some circumstantial China-based companies and wide Chinese firm espionage.

"I deliberation it's good documented that the Chinese authorities steals exertion from American companies," Zuckerberg testified earlier Congress successful 2020.

The editorial highlighted visits from Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arsenic examples of affirmative engagement with the Chinese authorities and markets, adding that Zuckerberg had ne'er been capable to marque inroads successful China, successful evident opposition to rival tech companies. Google pulled retired of mainland China successful 2013; Microsoft has long-standing operations determination but announced it would sunset its LinkedIn-like app successful China by August.

Zuckerberg has described TikTok arsenic a "very effectual competitor" successful public, and down closed doors, helium has reportedly said that the institution represents a important menace to American businesses. After gathering with Zuckerberg and discussing TikTok, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., co-wrote a missive to U.S. quality officials requesting an enquiry into TikTok, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Senior officials astatine the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security person warned that Chinese cyber attacks are important threats, but U.S. officials' willingness to openly sanction China arsenic a cyber adversary comes adjacent arsenic tech CEOs look to shy distant oregon locomotion backmost unfastened disapproval of the regime.

Neither Google CEO Sundar Pichai nor Cook explicitly acknowledged Chinese concern espionage successful the aforesaid February 2020 testimony, though Pichai acknowledged aboriginal connected successful his grounds that China compromised Google's intelligence spot successful a 2009 cyberattack.