Senate approves measure requiring companies to report tech investments in China, other 'countries of concern'
Senate overwhelmingly passes measure requiring US investors to report when they invest in Chinese tech companies
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U.S. investors of Chinese tech companies will have to report their stakes within two weeks to the Treasury Department, per a new Senate measure passed in a 91-6 vote Tuesday.
The move also requires investors to report their investments to other "countries of concern," like Russia, North Korea and Iran.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure, authored by Sens. Bob Casey D-Pa., and John Cornyn R-Texas, as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which lawmakers are in the thick of negotiations hoping to wrap up by Thursday before the five-week August recess.
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Sens. Bob Casey, D-PA, and John Cornyn, R-TX, authored a bill to require U.S. investors of Chinese tech companies to report their stakes to the Treasury Department within two weeks. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"When American companies invest in technology like semiconductors or AI in countries like China and Russia, their capital, intellectual property, and innovation can fall into the wrong hands and be weaponized against us," Cornyn said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"This bill would increase the visibility of these investments, which will help the U.S. gather the information needed to better evaluate our national security vulnerabilities, confront threats from our adversaries, and remain competitive on the global stage."
Meanwhile, lawmakers are anticipating President Biden will codify new regulations in an executive order focused on restricting certain investments in Chinese tech niches, such as artificial intelligence, hypersonics, quantum science, satellite-based communications and semiconductors in the coming weeks.
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U.S. lawmakers are hopeful that President Biden will codify new regulations to restrict specific investments in Chinese tech, including AI. (Fox News/Photo illustration / Fox News)
While disagreements on how far to go to hardline China are plenty on the congressional side, the issue has become one of the very few bipartisan efforts for Washington, D.C., lawmakers to rally behind.
"Right now, we’re in competition with a communist government that doesn’t play by the rules," Casey said on the floor Tuesday. "The Chinese government employs espionage, and it exploits the United States’ open innovation to build up its own capabilities."
Casey said in 2020 that U.S. companies’ capital investment in Chinese artificial intelligence alone totaled over $200 billion.
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Visitors visit the MIDU booth at the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 8, 2023. In 2020, U.S. companies’ capital investment in Chinese artificial intelligence alone totaled over $200 billion. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"This issue transcends party lines and gets to the heart of one of the most significant national security threats that we must confront," he said.
Casey and Cornyn previously introduced legislation to create a notification process for U.S. companies investing in China and Russia, but it died in 2021.
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An amendment passed by the Senate also bars, in some cases, U.S. farmland from being purchased by Russia, Iran, China and North Korea. (iStock / iStock)
As this is only one amendment of the NDAA, the final version of the $886 billion defense spending bill will not be determined until later this year, when the GOP-led House and the Democrat-controlled Senate will have to reconvene and settle their differences. The House passed its version of the bill earlier this month.
Also passed by the Senate Tuesday was a similar amendment forcing federal oversight of foreign purchases of farmland in the U.S. in a 91-7 passage. The amendment also bars, in some cases, U.S. farmland from being purchased by Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.