Latest news with #USCommerceDepartment
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Trump administration issues plan to limit AI exports to China
The White House on Wednesday released proposals to restrict exports of American AI equipment and limit the spread of Chinese AI models as part of a sweeping plan to shape the rules governing the fast-moving technology. The 28-page AI Action Plan marks US President Donald Trump's administration's first comprehensive strategy on the topic and comes as national security hawks have raised concerns that superior American chips may reach China – including through third countries – and advance its AI and military development. Under the plan, the US Commerce Department will lead an effort to develop new export controls on chipmaking components to close 'loopholes' in current restrictions that now focus on major systems. The department will also lead efforts to increase the monitoring of exported US chip end users and to explore using new chip location verification features to keep them out of 'countries of concern' – a term often used to refer to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, among others. The plan also directs the Defence and Commerce departments to coordinate with allies on adopting US export controls and to prohibit American adversaries from being involved in their defence supply chains. 'Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology with the potential to transform the global economy and alter the balance of power in the world,' White House AI tsar David Sacks said in a written statement. 'To win the AI race, the US must lead in innovation, infrastructure, and global partnerships ... This Action Plan provides a road map for doing that,' he added. The Trump administration decision last week to allow American chipmaker Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China reinvigorated furious debate about how to extend the US technological lead without compromising national security. That came months after the administration revoked a rule put in place under former President Joe Biden that limited how much US AI computing capability certain countries could access through imported US chips. American AI companies face increased competition from such Chinese rivals as Hangzhou-based DeepSeek, which sent global shock waves earlier this year when it released powerful AI models built far more cheaply than many had thought possible. Trump has previously warned of China's potential to surpass the US in the race for AI dominance. Speaking about the White House plan at an AI summit on Wednesday, Trump said he wants to make the US an 'AI export powerhouse' while maintaining 'necessary protections for our national security'. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'will work to rapidly expand American AI exports of all kinds, from chips to software to data storage', he said, before signing executive orders to fast-track AI development and promote exports. Ryan Fedasiuk, a former technology policy advisor in the State Department's Office of China Coordination, said that taken together, the export control proposals 'thread a difficult needle' in the lead-up to US-China trade talks in Stockholm next week. 'They tighten technology controls without risking an existential blow to the provisional trade deal struck in London, and they focus on enforcement gaps rather than adding sweeping new restrictions,' he said. The real impact of the plan will depend 'entirely' on its execution, Fedasiuk added. 'Allied coordination is where the rubber meets the road. Export controls only work if they're multilateral, and we've seen too many cases where US restrictions just pushed business to Dutch or Japanese competitors.' The new administration blueprint also makes several recommendations focused on countering the spread of Chinese models. To ensure 'that free speech flourishes in the era of AI', the Commerce Department is to evaluate advanced Chinese AI models for alignment with Communist Party talking points and censorship practices. Along with the US State Department, Commerce will lead a campaign to 'vigorously advocate' for international AI governance approaches that 'counter Chinese influence' at diplomatic and standard-setting bodies. Too many existing efforts 'have advocated for burdensome regulations, vague 'codes of conduct' that promote cultural agendas that do not align with American values, or have been influenced by Chinese companies attempting to shape standards for facial recognition and surveillance', the plan said. The two departments will also lead a new initiative to share technology protection measures, including measures in basic research and higher education, with allies and partners. To promote the use of American AI technology rather than that of adversaries, the Commerce Department will gather industry proposals for 'full-stack AI export packages' – bundled systems that include AI hardware, software, and related services intended for export. In recent years, the US has pushed its European and Asian allies to stop exports of advanced chipmaking equipment to China. Wednesday's document carries a thinly veiled threat to allies, warning that failure to align with US export controls could trigger punitive trade measures through secondary tariffs. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Chinese Officers Questioned U.S. Government Employee About His Army Service
Chinese intelligence officers began tracking an employee of the U.S. Commerce Department this spring, when he was in southwest China and where he has family members, at one point interrogating him about his prior service in the U.S. military, according to a U.S. government document. The man, who is an American citizen, has been prevented from leaving China since mid-April, according to the document, a State Department cable that was obtained by The New York Times. The cable, from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, was dated May 2 and sent to officials in Washington, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House aides on the National Security Council. On April 14, the Chinese officers seized the man's passport, credit card, cellphone and iPad while he was in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, the cable said. The officers, who worked for the Ministry of State Security, China's main intelligence and counterintelligence agency, returned the passport on April 22 but told the American he could not leave the country. His wife is in the United States. The cable gives a glimpse into the operations of the secretive Ministry of State Security as it increased pressure on the American during his stay in China. It also lays out efforts by U.S. diplomats to get him to Beijing from Chengdu in early May, while Chinese officers continued to conduct surveillance on him. The man's situation became public over the weekend, after American news organizations reported on his plight. The cable obtained by The Times did not identify the man by name or give details about his background, but it offers new information about his situation. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China Stops US Commerce Employee From Leaving, Reports Say
(Bloomberg) -- China has stopped an American citizen who works for the US Commerce Department from leaving the nation for several months, according to media reports — an episode that coincides with Beijing and Washington trying to arrange a leaders' summit so they can address their differences on trade. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital The Chinese-American individual who works for the Patent and Trademark Office had traveled to meet relatives, the Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive issue. The US sent a very high-level message to Beijing to let the man depart, the newspaper added, citing one person. It said it didn't know the name of the man facing a so-called exit ban, which was put in place over an apparent failure to disclose on a visa application that he worked for the US government. Officials from Beijing and Washington — including in the Commerce Department — are negotiating a trade deal after President Donald Trump hit goods from China with heavy tariffs that he later paused. Trump also wants a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to sort through their problems, which touch on technology curbs, rare earths and the status of Taiwan. To get the sitdown and a trade pact, Trump has recently softened his harsh campaign rhetoric that focused on the US's massive trade deficit with China and resulting job losses. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that there was 'a strong desire on both sides' for a Xi-Trump meeting. The outlook for such a meeting could be complicated if the episode involving the employee of the US Commerce Department escalates. The incident is somewhat magnified because Wells Fargo & Co. recently suspended travel to the world's second-biggest economy after one of its top trade financing bankers was blocked from leaving. 'These cases in combination are significant and will have a chilling effect on US business travel to China,' said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst on the China and Northeast Asia team at Eurasia Group, who once worked as a diplomat in China and Japan. 'Given that Trump's team is reportedly planning to bring a group of CEOs along with him for his summit with Xi later this year, these reports may complicate that effort or make US business executives less willing to participate.' The Commerce Department employee, a veteran of the US army, was detained when he arrived in the southwestern city of Chengdu in April, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday, citing a person familiar with the situation. He was being prevented from leaving China because his case was 'related to actions Beijing deemed harmful to national security,' the newspaper reported, though the specifics couldn't be confirmed. Since the man arrived in Chengdu, he had also traveled to the Chinese capital with a US official, the newspaper reported. The Patent and Trademark Office the man works for handles US patents and registers trademarks. It says on its website that its 'mission is to drive US innovation and global competitiveness.' A spokesperson US Embassy in Beijing said that its 'highest priority is the safety and security of US citizens overseas.' It added that 'we track these cases closely, and have raised our concern with Chinese authorities about the impact these arbitrary exit bans have on our bilateral relations and urged them to immediately allow impacted US citizens to return home.' The Foreign Ministry in Beijing didn't respond to a request for comment. China's use of exit bans has been a point of contention between Beijing and Washington in recent years. The US State Department has repeatedly advised citizens to reconsider travel to China based on what it called the 'arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.' The move by Wells Fargo came after Chenyue Mao, an Atlanta-based managing director for the bank who was born in Shanghai, was banned from departing after entering China in recent weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The case underscores multinational companies' fears about the risks of operating in China, especially in regard to staff safety and restrictions on movement. Among notable incidents in recent years, the Wall Street Journal in 2023 reported a senior executive at US risk advisory firm Kroll was prevented from leaving China. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that a UBS Group AG wealth manager was detained for about three months before returning home. An academic analysis published in 2022, based on data from six governments, found 128 cases of foreign citizens facing Chinese exit bans, with at least a third of the cases driven by business disputes. Chinese law prohibits people suspected of crimes from leaving the country. Chinese citizens judged to have endangered national security can also face exit bans under the country's recently updated espionage law. --With assistance from Catherine Lucey and James Mayger. (Updates with comments from Eurasia Group analyst.) 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Japan Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
China stops U.S. Department of Commerce worker from leaving country: reports
China has stopped a U.S. citizen who works for America's Department of Commerce from leaving the nation for several months, according to media reports, an episode that comes as Beijing and Washington try to arrange a leaders' summit so they can address their differences on trade. The Chinese-American individual who works for the Patent and Trademark Office had traveled to the Asian nation to meet relatives, the Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter. The newspaper said it didn't know the name of the man facing a so-called exit ban, adding that the incident was over a failure to disclose on a visa application that he worked for the U.S. government. The man was detained when he arrived in the southwestern city of Chengdu in April, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday, citing a person familiar with the situation. The man was being prevented from leaving China because his case was "related to actions Beijing deemed harmful to national security,' the newspaper reported, though the specifics couldn't be confirmed. Since the man arrived in Chengdu, he had also traveled to the Chinese capital with a U.S. official, the newspaper reported. Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor the Foreign Ministry in Beijing responded to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Officials from Beijing and Washington — including in the Commerce Department — are negotiating a trade deal after U.S. President Donald Trump hit goods from China with heavy tariffs that he later paused. Trump also wants a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to sort through their problems, which also touch on technology curbs, rare earths and the status of Taiwan. To get the sit-down and a trade pact, Trump has recently softened his harsh campaign rhetoric that focused on the U.S.' massive trade deficit with China and resulting job losses. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that there was "a strong desire on both sides' for a Xi-Trump meeting. China's use of exit bans has been a point of contention between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly advised citizens to reconsider travel to China based on what it called the "arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.'
South China Morning Post
20-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
US government worker, target of exit ban, prevented from leaving China for months
An American citizen who works for the US government has been blocked from leaving China for months, possibly on national security grounds, after travelling there recently, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter said that a naturalised US citizen, originally from China, was detained by authorities upon landing in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in April. The individual, who previously served in the US Army, works for the US Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office, but he had been on a personal trip to visit relatives. His wife is believed to live in the US. The Post is withholding his name out of concern for his safety and privacy while he remains in China. The Washington Post, reporting on the same incident and citing people familiar, said the employee was being held for failing to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the US government. Since being held in Chengdu, he has travelled to Beijing, accompanied by a US official, though his current whereabouts are unknown. At one point, according to the source, the individual's US passport was taken from him, but it has since been returned.
