US Congress launches four-front push to counter China's grip

US Congress opens four-front push on China

Washington, Sep 2

The actions, taken through a House hearing, two committee votes and passage of bipartisan legislation, reflect mounting concern in Washington over China's role in strategically important supply chains and emerging technologies.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said China's control over critical minerals posed a direct threat to the US economy and military.

"Today this Committee meets to discuss how we confront a problem America has failed to address for far too long: our dangerous dependence on Communist China for the critical minerals our entire society, including our economy and our military, cannot function without," Smith said.

China is the leading producer of 30 of the 60 minerals designated as critical by the United States and controls about 90 per cent of global rare-earth processing capacity, he said.

"When the world's processing capacity sits overwhelmingly in one country, a single policy decision in Beijing can cut off American manufacturers overnight," Smith said.

"They just have to control the supply chain," he added.

Smith called for stronger partnerships with mineral-rich countries in Central Asia and Africa, alongside increased domestic production. He recently led a congressional delegation to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

A separate congressional initiative targeted robots manufactured in China and other countries classified by Washington as foreign adversaries.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Communications and Technology Subcommittee approved the bipartisan GUARD Act, introduced by House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte and Democratic Rep. Jennifer McClellan.

The legislation would require Chinese-made robots and those from other foreign-adversary countries to undergo national-security reviews. Robots found to pose a threat would be prohibited from entering the United States.

Another House subcommittee advanced Republican Congressman Gabe Evans' Open-Source AI Leadership Act, which seeks to strengthen America's position against China in open-source artificial intelligence.

The bill directs the Commerce Department to identify barriers to the adoption of American open AI models and work with US companies and start-ups to promote their use.

It would also require assessments of foreign-adversary AI models, including risks to personal information, cybersecurity, supply chains and national security. The department would publicly compare their costs, capabilities and performance with qualified American models.

"The race for AI leadership is a race America cannot afford to lose," Evans said.

"Communist China is working every day to outcompete us, steal American innovation, and expand its technological influence around the world," he said.

In a parallel trade action, the House passed the bipartisan Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act.

The measure would establish a specialised Justice Department task force to investigate and prosecute trade-related offences by Chinese companies and other foreign entities.

Those offences include tariff and duty evasion, trade-based money laundering, smuggling and violations of import and export restrictions.

The legislation was led by Moolenaar and supported by lawmakers including Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, Democratic Congressman Josh Riley and Indian-American Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Congressional actions span the principal areas of competition shaping relations between Washington and Beijing: access to strategic resources, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and international trade.

The measures are at different stages of the legislative process. The trade-crimes bill has cleared the House, while the robot and open-source AI proposals must move through the full Energy and Commerce Committee before they can be considered by the chamber.

— IANS