Recommendations for strict rules on Chinese investment in U.S.
Yesterday we noted one of the recommendations in the annual report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an advisory body to the U.S. Congress: that journalists at Chinese state-owned media organizations register as foreign agents. After reading the whole report — nearly 600 pages of it — I’d like to highlight a few of the other recommendations that indicate a real hardening of attitudes to China among America’s political class:
- Prohibiting the acquisition of U.S. assets “by Chinese state-owned or state-controlled entities,” and ensuring a strict review process for all significant Chinese investments in the U.S., including licensing agreements and any deals that enable Chinese entities to “determine the disposition of any asset.”
- Using a “net economic benefit test” when assessing Chinese acquisitions in the U.S.
- Requiring that acquisition of media properties by a Chinese entity are assessed “in terms of the acquiring entity’s history of adhering to Chinese Communist Party propaganda objectives.”
- Inviting Taiwan “to participate, at least as an observer, in U.S.-led bilateral and multilateral military and security-related exercises, including the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise.”
- Imposing reciprocity: Legislation to allow market access to Chinese investors in the U.S. “on a reciprocal, sector-by-sector basis to provide a level playing field for U.S. investors in China.”
The addictive spectacle of November 11th
Here’s a new China-related newsletter: Magpie Digest: “a weekly exploration of contemporary China, one trending topic at a time.” The first issue looks at online conversations and memes about November 11 or Singles Day: the annual festival of online consumption that China’s ecommerce firms have manipulated Chinese internet users into celebrating.
