As the summer recess comes to an end, the U.S. Congress reconvened on Monday (September 9). This week, the House of Representatives will vote on dozens of bills targeting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese companies. Therefore, the congressional website referred to this week as “China Week”.
According to Fox News on Monday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stated, “We want to condense all activities into one week so that everyone can truly focus on one thing, which is the urgent need for us to confront the threat posed by China (CCP).”
The series of bills being pushed by the House of Representatives aim to counter the CCP, from combating their technological, political, and economic influence to supporting allies in the Indo-Pacific region. This includes a bill that prohibits federal contractors from partnering with Chinese biotech companies.
Reported by Nikkei Asia on Monday, among the 36 bills currently awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, 31 will bypass regular parliamentary procedures for a swift vote.
Among these 31 bills are the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which stipulates additional financial restrictions on CCP-related individuals if the U.S. determines a threat to Taiwan by the CCP; and the HKETO Certification Act, which requires the Secretary of State to review Hong Kong’s three economic and trade offices in the U.S. and close them if Hong Kong no longer enjoys “a high degree of autonomy.”
In the field of technology, the Biosecure Act plans to prohibit U.S. federal agencies from contracting with five Chinese biotech companies and their clients. These five companies include WuXi AppTec, WuXi Biologics, BGI Group, and their subsidiaries MGI and Complete Genomics. The bill also proposes establishing a cross-agency organization to review other relevant companies.
Other legislation set to be voted on includes measures to restrict business dealings with China’s electric vehicle supply chain and limiting the use of Chinese drone maker DJI’s products on U.S. communication infrastructure.
In July, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that he would push through multiple bills targeting the CCP, calling it the “greatest global threat to peace” and emphasizing the need for Congress to use all means at its disposal to counter China (CCP).
In response, Anna Kwok, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Democracy Promotion Association, remarked on Monday that this week is practically the last opportunity for the House of Representatives to pass multiple China-related bills before the end of this session. She expressed hope that the momentum of “China Week” would lead to the successful enactment of legislation concerning Hong Kong for the first time since the implementation of the National Security Law.
Most of the bills in “China Week” were drafted by Republicans and have bipartisan support. These bills will undergo expedited review and require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. Upon approval, the bills must be passed by the Senate and then sent to President Biden for final approval to become law.
Additionally, this week the House of Representatives will not vote on dozens of other China-related bills, including legislation addressing tariff evasion by the Chinese e-commerce giant Huawei.
Amid the intense technological competition between the U.S. and China, Huawei announced on Monday that its Mate XT foldable smartphone has received over 3 million pre-orders, just hours before the debut of Apple’s new iPhone 16 series. Huawei plans to hold a launch event for the phone on Tuesday (September 10).
Huawei’s strong pre-order numbers have reignited interest in the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions and its competitive ability against Apple’s smartphones. Earlier this year, Apple resorted to price adjustments to maintain its market share.