China's attempts at using economic tools, such as export controls on rare earth minerals or punishing imports from Australia, have only been somewhat successful, according to Maximilian Ernst, the speaker on the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies webinar Dec. 7, called “How to Respond to China’s Carrots and Sticks? Prospects of a Transatlantic Response to Chinese Economic Coercion.” Ernst is researching Chinese coercion for a Ph.D.
Exports to China
The U.S. sanctioned 14 officials on China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee associated with Hong Kong’s so-called national security law, the latest escalation in a series of U.S. designations aimed at Beijing. The sanctions target various NPCSC vice chairpersons who were involved in “developing, adopting, or implementing” the law, which has allowed Beijing to “stifle dissent” and arrest pro-democracy advocates, the State Department said Dec. 7.
China reportedly has developed a supercomputer that gives it an advantage in quantum computing, an emerging technology category that the U.S. has sought to prevent China from dominating. The computer can perform certain computations 100 trillion times faster than the world’s fastest existing supercomputer, giving China a “quantum computational advantage,” or “quantum supremacy,” Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, reported Dec. 4. Chinese researchers also said the computer can perform certain processes 10 billion times faster than the quantum computer developed by Google. The Bureau of Industry and Security is considering export controls on certain technology related to quantum computers, with those restrictions in their final rule stage as of July (see 2007140027). A BIS spokesperson said the agency continues to “evaluate and identify technologies that warrant control.”
The Justice Department plans to announce more indictments involving cases of Chinese technology theft before the Joe Biden administration takes over in January, top U.S. security officials said. Under the agency’s China initiative (see 2008130036), the U.S. has targeted and arrested Chinese nationals for trying to steal export-controlled technology, an effort that has resulted in more than 1,000 Chinese researchers leaving the country since July, said John Demers, the U.S. assistant attorney general for national security.
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As China continues to gain ground in technology competition with the U.S., Congress should pursue more investment and visa restrictions to prevent China from accessing sensitive U.S. technologies, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a Dec. 1 report. Commissioners said China’s access to U.S. technologies is helping it innovate and export surveillance tools and other advanced technologies globally.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the China National Electronics Import & Export Corp. (CEIEC), a Chinese state-owned company that exports advanced technologies and technical expertise globally, OFAC said Nov. 30. The agency designated CEIEC for selling technology, software and training to Venezuelan government entities, which then use the products to bolster the Nicolas Maduro regime’s “malicious cyber efforts.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security expects to roll out a more multilateral approach to export controls under the Joe Biden administration but does not expect any major changes to its China policies or Entity List decisions, a senior Commerce Department official said. The official pointed to the strong bipartisan support among lawmakers for Chinese sanctions and export controls, which likely will continue under a new administration. “I don't see that going away. I think the Hill is engaged. I think at least from what President-elect Biden has announced with his Cabinet, these are folks who are familiar with the national security issues,” the official, who declined to be named in order to speak candidly about BIS, said in an interview last week. “So I don't expect a lot of substantive change.”
While the Joe Biden administration will likely pursue more multilateral sanctions than the Trump administration, industry should not expect the Office of Foreign Assets Control to reverse its yearslong trend of increased sanctions, a former OFAC official and law firms said.
A Chinese national who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Raytheon Missiles and Defense engineer was sentenced to 38 months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. export controls, the Justice Department said Nov. 17. Wei Sun, who was charged in January (see 2002050025), violated the Arms Export Control Act when he took a company laptop with sensitive military technology data to China. His computer contained data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, including technical information on a missile guidance system. Raytheon didn’t comment.