Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross thinks that "everybody's hacking everybody" — whether it's Russia or China — and he requoted Shakespeare to put the cyber thefts into perspective.
Ross quipped the observation during an exclusive Newsmax TV interview Thursday with economist and moderator Larry Kudlow.
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They talked during the "Newsmax in the Nation's Capital" special sponsored by Newsmax and Google.
Conducted at Google's headquarters in Washington, the interview will re-air on Newsmax TV, as well on DirecTV 349, FiOS 615 and U-Verse 1220 — and other outlets. More Info Here.
The re-broadcasts will be on Thursday at 10 p.m., on Saturday at 1 p.m. and on Sunday at 10 a.m., all times Eastern.
In a discussion about China, Kudlow began: "We may have to make nice with China now because of North Korea. The president has a good relationship with President Xi [Jinping] …"
"He does," Ross said, referring to President Donald Trump. "He has a good biochemistry with President Xi."
" … But they do bad things for us, bad things," Kudlow added. "They lie, cheat steal. They steal our intellectual property rights."
Kudlow noted that when American businesses want to open an affiliate in China, they not only have to submit their data to the Chinese government but also to the local provincial officials where the firm would be located.
"You have to lay out all your secrets, right?" Kudlow asked. "Can we nail them on that?"
Ross, who said he has had 18 factories in China in his business career, added that Trump has ordered a review of how such restrictions jeopardize U.S. intellectual property.
"They're hackers," Kudlow said. "We may blame Russia. Russia should be blamed — but we know China's hacking everything … "
"… Well, I think everybody's hacking everybody, as far as I can tell," Ross said, chuckling, spurring laughter from the studio audience.
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Kudlow asked.
"I think we have to requote Shakespeare," Ross responded, then referencing "Hamlet."
"'Neither a hacker or a hackee should there be,'" he said.
The audience roared.