Summary: Two U.S. senators from different parties are preparing to introduce a bill intended to blunt the overseas sales of Chinese artificial intelligence and related technologies by making it easier and more affordable for allied governments to buy American alternatives. The proposal would stand up a new office inside the State Department, provide procurement support and seed a $500 million fund to underwrite purchases of U.S. AI models, chips, telecoms and other digital technologies.
Under the proposal, bipartisan sponsors would establish a mechanism to subsidize allied governments' purchases of U.S. technology and to simplify the procurement process for those buyers. The legislation names Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Pete Ricketts of Nebraska as its sponsors and would provide funding to support the program if it is enacted.
The text of the bill states that "Foreign government partners are increasingly turning towards strategic competitors like... China to procure cyber and digital technologies due to their low-cost." It warns that such buying patterns create "supply-chain vulnerabilities" and highlights the risk of "dependence on strategic competitors whose governments may compel access to data, networks, or systems, undermining the cybersecurity and strategic autonomy of the procuring government."
The legislative measure is intended to reinforce the Trump administration's Pax Silica initiative, which focuses on reducing reliance on China and deepening cooperation among allies by securing access to critical minerals and other inputs crucial to AI supply chains.
Specific categories of goods the bill would aim to make more accessible to foreign governments include AI models, chips and related software and hardware, telecoms equipment, cybersecurity products, biotechnology and cloud computing systems, among other items. Advocates of the effort say the combination of procurement assistance and financing is designed to shift purchase decisions toward U.S. suppliers.
Separately, the bill's introduction coincides with data showing China invested a record $213 billion last year into its Belt and Road initiative, based on research from Griffith University in Australia and the Green Finance & Development Center in Shanghai. The Belt and Road program - unveiled by President Xi Jinping in 2013 - is described in the research as a vehicle to boost trade, absorb overcapacity, secure supply chains and expand influence with more than 150 countries and international organizations.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposed U.S. legislation.
Sectors affected:
- Technology - AI development, chipmakers, cloud computing and software providers
- Telecommunications - vendors of networks and equipment
- Defense and cybersecurity - providers of secure systems and related services