Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis said the Chinese are turning their attention toward establishing new global standards for emerging technologies to create favorable environments for their companies.
China has used several tactics in its attempts to undermine the American economy and standing in world leadership, so American companies must look for alternatives as China makes it harder for these companies to thrive overseas, he said in a statement provided to State Newswire Feb. 1.
“The CCP will stop at nothing to undermine our global leadership and weaken our economy. They have bought up our farmlands, stolen our intellectual property and embedded themselves deep within many of our supply chains. Now they are turning their attention toward establishing the global standards for emerging technologies,” Bilirakis said in his statement.
The CCP invested heavily in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, according to remarks by Bilirakis during a House Energy and Commerce Committee Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee meeting. China is creating favorable environments for its entrepreneurs and private sector companies when paired with this latest investment to deploy and test these technologies.
“This has forced many American companies with a global footprint and American entrepreneurs with cutting-edge ideas to consider a hard decision: whether to move their operations from American to Chinese shores,” he said in his remarks.
As Chinese companies invest and expand, it may endanger U.S. infrastructure and data security. Waiting for more development on a national framework weakens the U.S. stance, he said in his remarks.
Bilirakis said the committee must establish those foundational frameworks to deploy emerging technologies, according to his remarks. Congress came close with the passage of the bipartisan and bicameral American Data Privacy and Protection Act, but during this Congress, it must get across the finish line because China won’t wait to influence international norms and standards.
“The American people are the most innovative in the world. It is our job in Congress to ensure that we eliminate bureaucratic red tape that has too often hampered innovation in the marketplace,” he said in his remarks to the committee.
America’s people must be given the regulatory certainty needed on emerging technologies. “If we fail, America will be left behind and our competitors like China will leave us in the dust,” he said in his remarks.
An America First Policy Institute fact sheet showed North Dakota is one of 14 states that have already enacted laws effectively banning the CCP from owning agricultural land and three more introduced legislation.
A USDA report cited in the fact sheet showed that, in 2010 Chinese investors held 13,720 acres. In 2020, they owned 352,140 acres. The report said securing and dominating world food supply chains is an integral part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has also seen them hoard computer chips, minerals and other sensitive commodities.
Bilirakis was first elected in 2006 to represent the people of the 12th Congressional District of Florida, according to the Energy and Commerce website. He is the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce.
