The US business lobby supports Biden’s China efforts while calling for caution


The largest U.S. business lobby group urged Washington to take “targeted and responsible steps” to limit the use of sensitive technologies that could harm national security, but warned not to treat all communications as threats.

“There is still a huge business opportunity for us to work more broadly and engage more effectively,” US Chamber of Commerce President Susan Clark said in a speech in Washington on Wednesday. But perhaps most importantly, and I can’t stress this enough: if we treat every economic interaction as a risk, we lose focus on what actually poses a risk.

The Biden administration and Congress are making separate efforts to address China’s power and trade practices, a major rift between the world’s two largest economies.

The United States has tried to limit the services of Beijing’s top semiconductors and blacklisted Chinese companies for alleged ties to the military or the use of forced labor. Restrictions on US investment in China are also in place. China describes those measures as defensive.

While the House supports various measures to strengthen US national security — including export controls, technology restrictions and scrutiny of foreign investment — more trade between nations “creates opportunities for America’s small businesses and improves the standard of living for millions of Americans,” Clark said.

The Biden administration has tried to emphasize that it is not pursuing a long-term breakup or “breakdown” of the U.S. and Chinese economies.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last month that the administration was working to “de-risk” Beijing, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on April 20 that “complete isolation of our economy would be dangerous.” both countries” and “instability for the rest of the world”.

Clarke used her speech to reiterate the council’s concerns about China’s anti-espionage crackdown on consulting firms and escalating restrictions on Western accounting firms, saying the moves have “increased risk and uncertainty in the market.”

–With assistance from Ramsey Al-Rikabi, Peter Martin and Eric Martin.

More stories like this can be found at bloomberg.com



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