As highlighted by the article on Bloomberg Law, concerns over national and economic security threats from China have led the FBI, the White House, and US officials to not only warn about potential cyber attacks to critical infrastructure, but also about the US’s growing dependence on China’s semiconductor and artificial intelligence markets.
Last year, due to these concerns, the bipartisan House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party put forward a list of 150 policy recommendations with an aim to bolster the US’s geopolitical and economic prowess. Key points of the report include the incompatibility of China’s economic system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and potential detriment to US economic security.
All signs suggest that the committee will push US companies to assess their benefits or negative impacts stemming from Chinese capitalization, as was indicated last month when CEOs of Intel Inc., Nvidia Corp., and Micron Technology Inc. were asked to testify about their ties to China, and concerns around further semiconductor regulation.
The committee’s policy proposals are notably assertive and cover a wide range of sectors. From proposing bans on TikTok and prohibiting the sale of US citizens’ privacy data to Chinese companies, to increasing regulation around US public companies, the impact of these recommendations could be significant.
Only the future will tell if the committee’s ambitious policy recommendations become new legislation, particularly in a politically charged election year. Regardless, businesses and especially technology companies should prepare for heightened scrutiny regarding their uses of and investments in certain China-based technologies.