Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Newsmax that Chinese operatives are using a business loophole to gain access to U.S. technology.
Ernst told Newsline on Thursday that China found a way to "force technology transfer" to circumvent U.S. controls. She said some of those methods were reviewed during a Senate committee hearing Wednesday when two government small business programs were highlighted as being targeted by the Chinese, "our small business innovation research and technology transfer programs."
She said the methods employed by the Chinese are really quite simple. "They can invest in small businesses in the United States. They can force technology transfer with their ownership of some of these small businesses or parts of small businesses."
And that, said Ernst, needs to be stopped. She pointed specifically to the government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs that need to be re-worked to ensure government technology funded by taxpayers does not end up with the Chinese. "So what we have to do is make sure that we have strong and enforceable due diligence protections, meaning if we can find those links to China, we disallow them from receiving federal taxpayer monies for their programs," she added.
The Senate review happens at the same time China reportedly stole hundreds of millions worth of artificial intelligence (AI) chips from the U.S., even after stronger controls were imposed by the Trump administration. The report said AI chips made by Nvidia had become widely available on a black market in China. Nvidia claimed they were not top-level chips and that Chinese users could not receive service or support from the company.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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