US lawmaker to urge chip industry group to reduce China investments -source

[September 20, 2023]  By Stephen Nellis
 
(Reuters) -The chair of the U.S. House of Representatives' committee on China is planning to meet with a semiconductor industry group to express concerns over U.S. investments in China's chip industry, according to a source familiar with the matter.  

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) speaks to reporters after a Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

The source said the meeting was originally planned for Tuesday but was subsequently postponed, due to scheduling conflicts. It has yet to be rescheduled.

Representative Mike Gallagher, an influential Republican lawmaker whose select committee has pressed the Biden administration to take a tougher stance on sending U.S. technology to China, wants to meet with the Semiconductor Industry Association, the source said.

The group represents major chip firms such as Nvidia and Intel, whose sales to China have been affected by recent changes in U.S. export rules.

Gallagher plans to tell the group he believes that U.S. rules enacted last October that cut off the sale of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China should be tightened to cover less advanced chips, the source said. The source added that Gallagher also aims to talk with the group about reducing the number of semiconductor manufacturing machines that could be sent to China.

Also among the planned discussion topics is U.S. investment in Chinese chip firms, according to the source. Intel, Qualcomm and other firms have venture capital arms that have invested in Chinese technology companies.

Gallagher also will express his concerns that a massive Chinese effort to build up capacity to build less advanced chips used in automobiles, washing machines and other everyday products could one day result in China dumping those chips on the U.S. market and drive U.S. makers of such chips out of business, the source said.

A representative for the Semiconductor Industry Association declined to comment.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San FranciscoEditing by Nick Zieminski and Rosalba O'Brien)

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