WASHINGTON—On their first day back from summer recess, House lawmakers passed a flurry of China-related legislation. Two noteworthy bills require the backlisting of Chinese biotech firms and funding for the State Department to coordinate efforts to counter the Chinese regime’s malign influence.
Amid other priorities, most notably the pressure to pass spending bills, the House voted in a bipartisan manner to add a “China Week” to the calendar. The widespread support is indicative of the congressional consensus that the Chinese communist regime poses the most significant national security risk to the values of the United States.
The 15 bills, most of which were fast-tracked with a 40-minute debate and a voice vote, focus on addressing the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to the United States in two areas: technology and influence.
Six bills aim to prohibit communist China from breaching U.S. security via insecure devices or predatory data collection, including Chinese drones, port cranes, and biotech companies collecting the genetic data of Americans.
Another four bills aim to support the U.S. global technological leadership by fending off Chinese espionage and strengthening export controls.
Protecting Americans From CCP Technology
The China-related bills show an overwhelming concern about the communist regime using technology to infiltrate U.S. critical infrastructure or collect Americans’ personal data.One of the bills passed on Sept. 9 is the Countering CCP Drones Act, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
“The Chinese Communist Party is working to undermine American sovereignty by forcing Americans to rely and depend on insecure Communist Chinese technology,” Stefanik said on the House floor. “Nowhere is this more evident than in the drone industry.”
![In this photo illustration, a DJI Mavic 2 Pro made by the Chinese drone maker hovers in place in Miami, Fla., on Dec. 15, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F09%2F08%2Fid5720479-GettyImages-1359234643KO-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
The legislation targets several top Chinese firms, including Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI Group), MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec, and WuXi Biologics, citing the risk of these companies being forced to transfer Americans’ data to the CCP if ordered to do so by the regime.
A key concern for this sector, when compared to other high-tech industries such as semiconductors, is the moral and ethical element.
If China is the first to achieve dominance in cutting-edge biotechnologies, it will set the ethical standard in a way that favors the CCP and is based on its authoritarian socialist values while disadvantaging Western liberal democracies that would likely regulate the technology differently.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) voiced concerns that the Commerce and Defense departments do not currently blacklist the companies named in the bill. The congressman, who is sanctioned by China, said he wants a “more thorough process” in banning specific companies. He requested a recorded vote, and the bill was passed later in the evening, in a 306–81 vote.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House China panel and one of the original sponsors of the BIOSECURE Act, told The Epoch Times in an email: “It is Congress’s constitutional duty to write national security laws, and that includes the authority to investigate and name foreign-adversary-controlled companies in law because of the threat they pose to national security.
Curbing Chinese Influence on US Soil
The Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act will authorize $325 million for the State Department to counter the CCP’s malign influence, which is defined as “advancing an alternative and repressive international order that bolsters the CCP and China’s hegemonic ambitions” or undermining U.S. national security.The bill passed the House with a vote of 351–36.
The proposed bills are relatively reserved in their scope and are likely to win broad bipartisan support. Several only seek preliminary risk assessments on China issues, leaving out issues that require more pointed action—such as restricting outbound investment to China and ending the de minimis privilege, which exempts shipments worth less than $800 from tariffs, for “made in China” goods.
President Joe Biden hasn’t indicated whether he endorses the initiative, which would likely be necessary to get the bills through the Democrat-controlled Senate.