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The U.S. has identified intensifying technological competition with China as a top national-security threat. But a Commerce Department-led process that reviews U.S. tech exports to the country approves almost all requests and has overseen an increase in sales of some particularly important technologies, according to an analysis of trade data. Of the U.S.âs total $125 billion in exports to China in 2020, officials required a license for less than half a percent, Commerce Department data shows. Of that fraction, the agency approved 94%, or 2,652, applications for technology exports to China. The figures omit applications âreturned without action,â meaning their outcomes were uncertain.
The result: The U.S. continues to send to China an array of semiconductors, aerospace components, artificial-intelligence technology and other items that could be used to advance Beijingâs military interests.
Critics say Commerce officials are improperly giving priority to U.S. commercial interests over national security and that an urgent regulatory revamp is necessary to respond to the threat from Beijing. For Steve Coonen, the Pentagonâs former top China export-controls analyst, the high rate of approvals for licenses to sell tech with potential military use is evidence of significant policy failure.
âI have no problem trading with or feeding China,â Mr. Coonen told colleagues in a September 2021 email after resigning over frustrations with the policy. âI have a huge problem with arming China.â A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Coonenâs resignation.
Some warn tighter restrictions on U.S. tech sales to China will backfire because allies such as Germany, Japan and South Korea will step in to fill the void. For export restrictions to be effective, âwe need our allies to have the same controls,â said Kevin Wolf, a senior Commerce official during the Obama administration, while testifying on Capitol Hill last year. âIt is that simple and logical.â Such coordination, however, could take years, and others argue that Chinaâs official military-civil fusion policyâwhich seeks to erase the distinctions between the military and the private sectorârequires an immediate response, because it has made it impossible for the U.S. to guarantee tech transferred to China wonât end up in military hands.
www.wsj.com
So, if a war ever happens between the US and China, at least some American service members could be killed or captured because of technology we sold to the Chinese. We are making it easier and cheaper for them to build their military and thus increase their ability to attack Taiwan and other interests in the region, such as South Korea.
The result: The U.S. continues to send to China an array of semiconductors, aerospace components, artificial-intelligence technology and other items that could be used to advance Beijingâs military interests.
Critics say Commerce officials are improperly giving priority to U.S. commercial interests over national security and that an urgent regulatory revamp is necessary to respond to the threat from Beijing. For Steve Coonen, the Pentagonâs former top China export-controls analyst, the high rate of approvals for licenses to sell tech with potential military use is evidence of significant policy failure.
âI have no problem trading with or feeding China,â Mr. Coonen told colleagues in a September 2021 email after resigning over frustrations with the policy. âI have a huge problem with arming China.â A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Coonenâs resignation.
Some warn tighter restrictions on U.S. tech sales to China will backfire because allies such as Germany, Japan and South Korea will step in to fill the void. For export restrictions to be effective, âwe need our allies to have the same controls,â said Kevin Wolf, a senior Commerce official during the Obama administration, while testifying on Capitol Hill last year. âIt is that simple and logical.â Such coordination, however, could take years, and others argue that Chinaâs official military-civil fusion policyâwhich seeks to erase the distinctions between the military and the private sectorârequires an immediate response, because it has made it impossible for the U.S. to guarantee tech transferred to China wonât end up in military hands.
U.S. Approves Nearly All Tech Exports to China, Data Shows
A Commerce Department-led process that reviews U.S. tech exports to the country has overseen an increase in sales of some particularly important technologies, according to an analysis of trade data.
www.wsj.com
So, if a war ever happens between the US and China, at least some American service members could be killed or captured because of technology we sold to the Chinese. We are making it easier and cheaper for them to build their military and thus increase their ability to attack Taiwan and other interests in the region, such as South Korea.
