In a House committee hearing Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers and expert witnesses called for an escalation of economic measures to counter what they cast as the “generational threat” that China presents toward the United States.
“We need a whole-of-country sort of approach to this,” said Craig Singleton, a China program senior director and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “And part of that is building out different pillars of economic statecraft: sanctions, outbound investment screening, sectoral export control bans to prevent the flow of these technologies into China's military and its defense sector.”
On the need for such action, members of the House Committee on Homeland Security largely appeared to agree.
The details: Singleton was one of four witnesses invited to testify at the hearing, titled “Countering Threats Posed by the Chinese Communist Party to U.S. National Security.”
Much of the hearing focused on China’s efforts to acquire and develop advanced technologies, as part of its broader civil-military fusion strategy.
“We heard a little bit earlier about the theft of intellectual property,” Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Penn.) said, “but what I have seen is that the Communist Party of China is investing in certain companies that seem to me to be strategic investments … where then the subsidiaries or part companies of those larger entities are actually providing defense investment and equipment and technology for our U.S. military”
For context: The Trump administration released a memorandum late last month about reviewing restrictions on outbound investment in China and other “foreign adversaries.” The outbound investment rule, which took effect in January, established new restrictions on U.S. investments in “countries of concern” that develop critical technologies.
Trump’s memorandum outlines additional potential expansions and proposals to the rule, including:
McCaul on Wednesday pointed to a bipartisan bill that he sponsored last year, the ENFORCE Act, which would authorize the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to use export controls to restrict the sale of AI technology to China.
“I see no reason in the world how we could justify any company in the United States selling to China military-grade AI technology,” McCaul said.
“We need a whole-of-country sort of approach to this,” said Craig Singleton, a China program senior director and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “And part of that is building out different pillars of economic statecraft: sanctions, outbound investment screening, sectoral export control bans to prevent the flow of these technologies into China's military and its defense sector.”
On the need for such action, members of the House Committee on Homeland Security largely appeared to agree.
The details: Singleton was one of four witnesses invited to testify at the hearing, titled “Countering Threats Posed by the Chinese Communist Party to U.S. National Security.”
Much of the hearing focused on China’s efforts to acquire and develop advanced technologies, as part of its broader civil-military fusion strategy.
“We heard a little bit earlier about the theft of intellectual property,” Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Penn.) said, “but what I have seen is that the Communist Party of China is investing in certain companies that seem to me to be strategic investments … where then the subsidiaries or part companies of those larger entities are actually providing defense investment and equipment and technology for our U.S. military”
For context: The Trump administration released a memorandum late last month about reviewing restrictions on outbound investment in China and other “foreign adversaries.” The outbound investment rule, which took effect in January, established new restrictions on U.S. investments in “countries of concern” that develop critical technologies.
Trump’s memorandum outlines additional potential expansions and proposals to the rule, including:
- Broadening investment restrictions to cover sectors like biotech, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
- Using blocking sanctions or investment restrictions to limit U.S. capital from supporting China’s military-industrial sector.
McCaul on Wednesday pointed to a bipartisan bill that he sponsored last year, the ENFORCE Act, which would authorize the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to use export controls to restrict the sale of AI technology to China.
“I see no reason in the world how we could justify any company in the United States selling to China military-grade AI technology,” McCaul said.
