Did China bug the headquarters it built for the African Union? Preposterous, says ambassador
A French report claims that the US$200m building, completely paid for by Beijing, featured secret microphones in desks and walls
China and the African Union dismissed on Monday a report in French newspaper Le Monde that Beijing had bugged the regional bloc’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital.
An article published Friday in Le Monde, quoting anonymous AU sources, reported that data from computers in the Chinese-built building had been transferred nightly to Chinese servers for five years.
After the massive hack was discovered a year ago, the building’s IT system including servers was changed, according to Le Monde. During a sweep for bugs after the discovery, microphones hidden in desks and the walls were also detected and removed, the newspaper reported.
China-Africa relations have brought about benefits and a lot of opportunities. Africans are happy with it. Others are not
As in the Ethiopian capital, China’s investments in road and rail infrastructure are highly visible across the continent. At a 2015 summit in South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged US$60 billion in aid and investment to the continent, saying it would continue to build roads, railways and ports.