US Congress unveils bill with curbs on China tech investment and biotech ties

The US Congress is readying votes on a sprawling bill that would restrict US outbound investment to China in sensitive sectors as well as federal government contracting with Chinese biotechnology companies, two controversial measures that were left out of similar legislation last year.

The provisions were included in a compromise defence bill released on Sunday after months of negotiation.

Votes on the annual bill, known as the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), could happen this week. Lawmakers in both the US House of Representatives and Senate have two weeks left before they go out of session until January.

Enacted annually for over six decades, the NDAA is one of a few major pieces of legislation considered to be “must-pass” and often includes measures not strictly tied to defence.

Lawmakers have sought for years to pass versions of the Biosecure Act targeting executive branch contracting with Chinese biotech as well as the Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart (FIGHT) China Act targeting US investments in Chinese technologies with military applications.

Jim McGovern, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, was instrumental in getting the Biosecure Act dropped in 2024 over concerns about the process used for determining the list of targeted companies. Photo: Reuters

Last year, the Biosecure Act was dropped from consideration after Jim McGovern, the top Democratic congressman on the influential House Rules Committee, intervened to protect jobs tied to one targeted Chinese company in his district. The version included in this year’s NDAA does not name specific companies, but rather directs the executive branch to come up with a list of “biotechnology companies of concern” that would be blocked from federal contracts, grants or loans.

South China Morning Post