An exterior view of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on September 9, 2024. Members of the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives return to the Nation’s capitol, following their August recess.
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From drones to drugs, House lawmakers sought to portray themselves as tough on China as they returned to work this week, taking up more than two dozen measures aimed at countering Beijing’s technological, political and economic influence.
The blitz of 28 mostly Republican-led bills during “China Week” has been criticized by Democrats as a ploy to make Republicans look stronger against China, a key foreign policy issue, in the final weeks before the November election. But many of the measures passed with bipartisan support at a time when viewing the world’s second-largest economy primarily as a geopolitical rival is one of the few issues both Republicans and Democrats can agree on.
“Members now see little downside risk in adopting a tougher stance on China,” said Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank based in Washington.
China says the legislation could strain what both countries have called one of the world’s most important bilateral relationships, even as Beijing and Washington take steps to improve ties. It has vowed to take “strong and effective measures” in response.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
All legislation must also be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
It is unclear how many of the measures will make it that far given the limited number of days the Senate is in session for the rest of the year. But their success in the House could pave the way for even stronger regulatory moves in the next Congress, Singleton said.
Here are some of the most notable measures that were approved:
Biotech companies
One of the first bills to pass, the Biosecure Act, would prohibit federal contracts with several Chinese biotech companies and those that do business with them, with supporters saying the measure is necessary to protect Americans’ genetic and other health data from Beijing.
The Chinese companies, whose work includes cancer research and manufacturing for American drugmakers, say data privacy is not at risk and that the measure will limit competition.
“We are disappointed that the U.S. legislative process is being used to pick winners and losers,” Shenzhen-based BGI Group said in a statement.
A spokesperson for WuXi AppTec, another of the targeted companies, said it was “deeply concerned about the legislation’s impact on U.S. leadership in biotechnology innovation, drug development and patient care.”
Hong Kong
Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill that could lead to the closure of Hong Kong‘s economic and trade offices in Washington, New York and San Francisco if they are found not to be running with a “high degree of autonomy” from China. Authorities have cracked down on dissent in the Chinese territory, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under the principle of “one country, two systems,” since mass anti-government protests in 2019.
The Hong Kong government criticized the bill on Wednesday as politically motivated, saying that normal functioning of the trade offices is “mutually beneficial to both places” and that their closure would “ultimately harm the interests of the U.S.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing had “lodged stern representations” with the U.S.
Drones
Another bill would bar new drones from the Chinese manufacturer DJI from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure, citing national security risks that the company has rejected.
DJI, which sells more than half of all drones in the U.S., said in May that lawmakers had “amplified xenophobic narratives in a quest to support local drone manufacturers and eliminate market competition.” It added that the move would hurt not just American hobbyists but also a “broad ecosystem of operators, businesses and public safety agencies.”
China said the U.S. should “stop suppressing Chinese companies under various pretexts.”
A new ‘China Initiative’
Lawmakers were more divided over an effort to revive the Justice Department’s “China Initiative,” a Trump-era national security program meant to counter intellectual property theft at universities and research institutions. Asian American advocacy groups said the program unfairly targeted ethnic Chinese scientists and upended their lives, and it ended in 2022 after a string of failed prosecutions.
The measure passed in the House 237-180.
Foreign farmland purchases
Another bill that raised discrimination concerns would limit the sale of agricultural land to foreign nationals from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Supporters said it would improve oversight of foreign farmland purchases, including those near sensitive sites.
A review by NBC News found that the total amount of U.S. agricultural land owned by Chinese interests is less than three-hundredths of 1%.
Electric vehicles
Lawmakers narrowly passed a measure that would tighten the definition of Chinese components that disqualify vehicles from receiving U.S. EV tax credits. Opponents argued that it would slow U.S. efforts to get more EVs on its roads as part of the broader transition to green technology.
Though China is a world leader in the manufacture of electric vehicles and dominates the supply chain for EV batteries, very few of its EVs are sold in the U.S. In May, Biden announced that the tariff on Chinese EVs would increase from 27.5% to 100%.
Scientific cooperation
Lawmakers passed a bill that would require congressional notification before the renewal or extension of the Science and Technology Agreement (STA) or the creation, renewal or extension of any similar agreement with China.
“For too long, the Chinese Communist Party has exploited these partnerships to gain access to sensitive technologies that could threaten our national security,” Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., said after the bill’s passage.
The STA, the first accord between the U.S. and China after they normalized diplomatic relations in 1979, expired on Aug. 27 after two six-month extensions. Supporters say the pact’s lapse would hinder academic cooperation and could imperil U.S.-China government collaboration in areas such as climate change and public health.
Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing, and Mithil Aggarwal and Peter Guo reported from Hong Kong.
