The US Senate has taken new action, involving the Investment in China Act | Amendment | Action
The US Senate recently passed an amendment that sets new requirements for US investment in China.
According to Reuters on the 26th, the US Senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the 2024 Defense Authorization Act on the 25th, which will require US companies to report to federal agencies on their investment in China's technology sector, including artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors, satellite communications, and quantum computing.
Screenshot of the report
According to reports, taking a tough stance on China is one of the few areas where the two parties can reach a consensus for the divided US Congress, and lawmakers have proposed dozens of bills for this.
The latest amendment passed is a version of the Transparency in Foreign Investment Act, proposed by Democratic Senator Bob Casey and Republican Senator John Corning, aimed at "removing the risk of US investment flowing to foreign counterparts such as China," requiring US companies to notify the US Treasury when investing in sensitive technologies such as advanced semiconductors or artificial intelligence from foreign counterparts such as China and Russia.
It is reported that this amendment is different from the amendment proposed by senators in 2021 that did not become law. The new amendment requires notification of certain types of overseas investments, rather than review or prohibition, which will be more targeted.
In addition, the Senate also passed another NDAA amendment with a vote of 91-7, strengthening federal scrutiny of foreign purchases of US farmland and, in some cases, prohibiting China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from purchasing US farmland.
Casey claimed at the US Senate meeting on the 25th that the annual defense authorization bill "solves the most challenging national security issues our country faces" and "technology competition with China is undoubtedly the top priority."
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On July 14th of this year, the US House of Representatives passed a total of $886 billion in the 2024 fiscal year defense authorization bill, an increase of $28 billion from the 2023 fiscal year and continuing to dominate the world. This includes funding for research and development related to the development of new weapons, as well as meeting the ammunition needs for military assistance to Ukraine.
The Chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Rogers, stated that this legislation is crucial as the United States is facing unprecedented threats from its opponents, and even claimed that the focus of the bill is to confront China.
Reuters stated that a bill must be passed by both houses of Congress in the final version with the same content before it can be submitted to the President, who can veto or sign it into law. The final form of NDAA will not be determined until later this year.
On July 19th local time, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, stated at the Aspen Security Forum that we oppose using competition as a pretext to engage in trade and technology wars against China.
He pointed out that China is not afraid or avoids competition, but the so-called competition by the US is clearly unfair. Firstly, the US has stripped China of its eligibility to participate. For example, the US has completely banned Huawei under unfounded security pretexts, and Huawei has proposed to sign a "backdoor agreement" but has not let it go. How can you compete even if you are not allowed to participate? Secondly, the US is not "one-on-one", but rather gathering allies to "fight one more", and is it still following the rules? Thirdly, the US has also introduced a "chip ban", prohibiting the export of chips below 14 nanometers to China, just like wearing the most advanced shark skin swimsuit in a swimming competition and allowing others to only wear the same swimsuit. Is there at least fairness?