US House Approves China Bill Package
Date: 2024-09-13 Author: Michail Kovalenko Categories: WORLD
Tech
The House backed a bill to prevent federal money from going to five biotech companies with ties to China, which is seen as necessary to protect Americans’ health data and reduce reliance on China for medical supplies.
Another bill would ban drones from Chinese manufacturer DJI, the dominant player in the global market, on national security grounds.
To plug a loophole in export controls, the House backed an amendment that supporters say would cut off China’s remote access, such as through cloud computing services, to cutting off US technology for developing artificial intelligence and modernizing the military.
Espionage
The bill, which passed along party lines, would require the Justice Department to stop Beijing’s spying on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions and prosecute people who steal trade secrets, hack, and engage in economic espionage.
Electric Vehicles
The House also approved an effort to exclude Chinese electric vehicles from receiving tax credits for clean vehicles. “America’s working families should not be forced to subsidize a country whose decades of unfair trade practices and government subsidies have lost jobs, closed factories, and devastated communities right here at home,” said Representative Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican.
Diplomacy
The House backed several measures to tighten sanctions on China and deepen ties with Asia-Pacific countries to counter China’s influence.
This could lead to the closure of Hong Kong's missions in the United States, stripping them of their diplomatic privileges if the territory is deemed to have lost its autonomy from mainland China.
Recall that the United States and China have not agreed on a specific plan for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
On September 10, the United States and China held their first talks at the level of combat commanders in an effort to stabilize relations. One of the topics was tensions in the South China Sea.
