American venture capitalists backed a ban on investments in Chinese firms developing artificial intelligence. This was reported by Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, according to CNBC.
According to him, the meeting with Silicon Valley leaders was held with \”cautious optimism,\” and the initiative received \”broad support.\” The congressman called it good news, and described the AI race between the two powers as \”nose-to-nose.\”
\”I actually left that day with cautious optimism about what we could do to implement sensible controls over the flow of American capital into China, which would prevent us from financing our own destruction or losses in the great AI race,\” Gallagher said.
He added that American tech companies competing with Chinese firms do not want the United States to fund their losses in the AI race.
According to Gallagher, the hardest task will be to figure out which companies can decouple from the PRC and move production to other countries. He is confident that American business leaders now understand — \”the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party has changed.\”
Even if they disagree with this, companies have nonetheless begun diversifying their supply chains, Gallagher says. However, moving production out of China will not happen overnight, he warned.
The congressman acknowledged a number of unresolved questions. The committee has not yet decided in what format it will continue dialogue with stakeholders.
\”Much will depend on the answers we receive in the future. … I sincerely want to understand what choice these companies are making when doing business in China, and I think Americans want to understand it. And I believe we can have this conversation without turning it into partisan madness,\” Gallagher said.
As reported in March, Chinese AI companies use cloud services to circumvent U.S. export controls on chips.
In January, FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed ‘deep concern’ about the Chinese government’s AI program.