The US newspaper Politico (February 19) reported that the US Congress is considering
legislation allowing the government to screen American investments in China and other
adversarial nations — and potentially deny them if a project threatens national security. At the
same time, the White House is talking about issuing executive orders to increase scrutiny of
American funding for Chinese start-ups and technology firms, expanding a ban that today only
exists for a select group of firms aligned with the Chinese military. Supporters say they are
necessary to stop American banks from funding China’s technological development and
prevent U.S. supply chains from being reliant on Beijing for goods used in critical industries,
like medicine, energy, and defense. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who is leading a bill with
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) said “We’re in an economic war, whether we want to use that
language [or not]. I think it requires that we examine some issues that maybe 10 or 15 years
ago we didn’t have to worry about.”
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