Senator Seeks Balanced Approach on Tech Exports to China
The U.S. should restrict but not completely cut off sales of “compute power” to China, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said May 30.
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While the U.S. should protect its most advanced technology, ending all such exports to China would spur the Asian country to develop its own capabilities while depriving U.S. companies of much-needed revenue, Rounds said at the Reagan National Economic Forum.
“I’d much rather have us sell compute power to them but not at the most advanced degrees to where it becomes a threat to us with regard to our military operations,” Rounds said. “I don’t want to force them to create their own advantages, while at the same time I don’t want to lose the ability to market those items that are not the highest in terms of technological capabilities but still a very good market for us today. That fine line between the most advanced capabilities versus those run-of-the-mill capabilities -- I’d like to have us be able to split that baby a little bit.”
While China might eventually obtain advanced American chips from third countries, export controls can significantly delay those illegal transfers, giving the U.S. time to improve its capabilities and maintain its technological edge, the senator added. Rounds, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced a bill in April aimed at preventing the smuggling of advanced U.S. AI chips to China (see 2504140012).