As lawmakers return to Washington after the summer break, the focus will be on how to curb and counter China’s influence and power, particularly through its biotech companies, drones, and electric vehicles. The U.S. House plans to take up a series of measures targeting Beijing, with both Republicans and Democrats showing strong support for the legislation. The bills are seen as necessary to ensure that the U.S. prevails in its competition with China, which is viewed as its biggest geopolitical rival.
However, advocacy groups are concerned about the impact of the legislation, warning against rhetoric that could harm Asian Americans and create divisiveness. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has labeled the legislation as “new McCarthyism” and accused it of hyping tensions in an election year. The embassy warned that if the bills are passed, they could damage China-U.S. relations and interfere with mutually beneficial cooperation, ultimately harming the U.S.’s own interests, image, and credibility.
Among the key bills are efforts to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese biotech companies, ban Chinese electric vehicles and drones, restrict Chinese nationals from buying farmland, toughen export restrictions, and revive a program to combat spying on U.S. intellectual property. These measures, if approved, would still need to clear the Senate. The bill targeting Beijing-linked biotech companies seeks to ban a group of five companies with Chinese ties from receiving federal funding. Supporters argue that this is necessary to protect U.S. healthcare data and reduce reliance on China for medical supplies.
Another bill aims to ban drones made by Chinese company DJI, which dominates the global drone market, over national security concerns. The bill would cut DJI’s products from U.S. communications networks to protect Americans’ data and critical infrastructure. Additionally, efforts to protect intellectual property are likely to face challenges due to concerns stemming from a Trump-era program called the China Initiative. The bill seeks to curb spying on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions and address theft of trade secrets, hacking, and economic espionage.
A separate bill focuses on restricting foreign adversaries, particularly citizens from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, from purchasing U.S. farmland. The bill aims to add the agriculture secretary to the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment and make sales involving these citizens “reportable.” Supporters argue that food security is national security and have criticized the federal government for allowing the Chinese Communist Party to pose security risks through its purchases of American farmland. Concerns have emerged after instances where Chinese entities bought large tracts of land near U.S. military bases.
