Legislation banning everything from Chinese laser-based navigation technology to Chinese garlic has passed the US House of Representatives and is set to become law by the end of the year.
The House advanced Congress’s annual defence bill, known as the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), on Wednesday by a vote of 281-140. The Senate is expected to vote on the US$884 billion measure by next week before US President Joe Biden signs it into law.
The NDAA, which establishes the top-line budget and directs policy for the Pentagon, is a “must-pass” bill because its enactment is required for members of the military to receive their pay and benefits on time. As a result, provisions not strictly tied to defence often make it into the legislation.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
As has been the case in past years, the NDAA for the 2025 fiscal year is ripe with measures related to competing with and countering China.
Among other procurement restrictions, the bill bans the Pentagon from operating or contracting for light detection and ranging (lidar) technology manufactured in or using operating software developed in China.
“Lidar, a remote sensing technology with both military and civilian applications, stands at the centre of Beijing’s bid for technological superiority,” said the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.
While China-origin sensors serve as “essential nodes” within systems for public safety, transportation and utilities in the US, their “system-wide integration” leaves its users’ data “vulnerable to espionage and sabotage” by Beijing, the group said.
Earlier this year, the US Defence Department added China’s Hesai Group, one of the biggest makers of lidar systems, to a list of companies with alleged ties to Beijing’s military.
Data concerns also drove provisions to prohibit Pentagon contracting with Chinese online tutoring companies and entities that provide semiconductor products and services to Chinese-owned Huawei. Meanwhile, agricultural safety and anti-competition worries prompted a ban on the sale of fresh or chilled Chinese garlic in US military commissaries.
Expanding the US defence industrial base in the Indo-Pacific was another stand-out theme in this year’s NDAA.
The bill authorises the creation of an “advanced manufacturing facility” on or near a military installation within the US Indo-Pacific Command in order to “support the submarine, shipbuilding and other defence activity industrial bases”.
The bill also commissioned numerous China-focused studies, often crucial to setting up future legislation. This year, the NDAA mandates a report on the anti-competitive advantages benefiting the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, an international freight shipping group jointly established by China’s Ministry of Transport and the Shanghai municipal government.
In the past year, US lawmakers have warned that the exchange had a “stranglehold” on rate indexes for trade to and from the Indo-Pacific region, sparking concern that Chinese government manipulation could disadvantage American shippers.
The legislation also mandates an assessment on the recruitment of Mandarin speakers in the intelligence community, a potential problem highlighted by congressional advisers amid the decrease of Americans studying in China; a report on Beijing’s efforts to evade US transparency and national security regulations; and an analysis of how Beijing is supporting China’s biotechnology industry.
Several key China-related measures lawmakers aimed to pass before the next Congress, which starts in January, did not make it.
These include restrictions on outbound US investment to China, prohibitions on federal contracting with major Chinese biotechnology companies, and legislation to remove duty-free exemptions for certain Chinese goods.
A provision that would have significantly limited Chinese nationals from accessing national security labs was watered down after opponents said it would significantly disturb scientific research.
But, observers say, Republicans may have decided that it made more sense to hold more aggressive legislation until next year, when their party will control both chambers of Congress and the presidency.
“There’s not a huge need for them to push right now to get legislation,” said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.
“Republicans may feel that it’s easier to get consensus legislation through the next Congress than this one,” he added, citing the departure of Representative Patrick McHenry, the pro-business House financial services committee chair who has opposed restrictions on outbound US investment.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Final Pentagon budget bill features Taiwan, Aukus and counters to China’s influence
- Chinese laser-sensor maker Hesai awaits Pentagon notification on blacklist decision
- US defence chief Lloyd Austin reassures Japan amid China tensions, Trump policies
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2024.
