High-profile technology and media executives shared their experiences of working in and competing in China with lawmakers who visited California this week.
A delegation of approximately 10 members of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party traveled west to meet with industry leaders and subject matter experts on key areas of concern when dealing with China.
During the three-day trip, which began on Wednesday, a meeting with lawmakers was scheduled Disney CEO Bob Iger i Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as senior executives from Google, Microsoft, Palantir and Scale AI. The program also included meetings with a group of producers, writers and former studio directors who have experience working with China, as well as venture capitalists and experts from Stanford University, according to a source close to the committee.
The tour highlights the critical role the tech and media industries play in America’s increasingly complex relationship with China. While these industries often rely on the vast audience and workforce available in China, dependence on the country raises human rights and free speech concerns due to government censorship controls as well as supply chain risks.
The trip takes place right after a historic meeting in California between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of R-Calif. and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday. The meeting, which was also praised by former chairwoman Nancy Pelosi of D-California, infuriated the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese government called the meeting a “provocation” and promised “decisive action.”
In Hollywood, a group of lawmakers from a select committee reviewed a range of topics related to competition with China. According to a source familiar with the committee’s activities, during a meeting with Disney’s Iger and later during a dinner with anonymous studio executives, the censorship of creative content was very important. Executives discussed dealing with self-censorship to ensure the film would not offend the Chinese government even before filming began, as well as the editing requests they receive from the government to screen films in the country.
In Silicon Valley on Thursday, according to a source, Microsoft CEO Brad Smith gave a presentation on AI, warning that there is a slight gap between the US and China in the development of generative AI, which has been popularized thanks to tools like ChatGPT. He also discussed the extraction and processing of rare earth minerals that make up the key components of some technical devices. Smith and executives from Google, Palantir and ScaleAI attended lunch with committee members.
Lawmakers also met with experts from Stanford University, including the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, according to the center’s founding member Steve Blank. In a phone call after Thursday’s discussion, Blank said he communicated the need for a defense strategy that includes more public-private partnerships across industries to accelerate U.S. cooperation with China. Blank said he was impressed by the bipartisan nature and interest from current lawmakers.
“In general, based on the questions they asked, you’d be very proud to be an American sitting in this room,” said Blank. “They were cross-party, they got to the point and they were very smart. These people understand the problems and try to help the country be better.”
Representative Ro Khanna of California, a committee member representing Silicon Valley, told CNBC in a phone call before leaving on Tuesday that he was excited for his colleagues to visit his home district. Khanna said it’s always valuable for legislators to spend time learning about cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and climate technologies to better understand how to regulate and support them.
“I think it would be wise for every member of Congress to spend a week in Silicon Valley,” said Khanna. “Technology will define so many areas from the economy to national security to issues of citizenship, and we need people to immerse themselves in it, or at least understand it.”
Khanna and others described the destination as primarily an exploratory mission. While the talks are likely to inform future policymaking and hearings, lawmakers attended the meetings to learn from industry leaders on the ground.
The group was also scheduled to meet venture capitalists on Thursday, including Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and SV Angel. Khanna expected VCs to discuss how the government could “better work with the private sector” to stay ahead of China in key areas of emerging technology.
According to a source familiar with the committee’s plans, lawmakers were scheduled to discuss cryptocurrency with Stanford experts on Friday before traveling to Cupertino to meet Cook at Apple headquarters.
Khanna said he expects business leaders to inform policy makers of any progress they have made in diversifying their supply chains outside of China and how they are using export revenues from China to invest in the US. Regarding the meeting with Apple’s CEO, Khanna said he expects Cook to “be honest about the supply chain issues,” including the complexity and progress of diversifying production outside of China.
In a telephone conversation during Thursday’s trip, representative Haley Stevens of D-Mich. parent state.
“In my mind, every meeting we’ve been to has been about Michigan’s economy and our productive capacity as a country,” Stevens said. “One of the topics that I brought to the committee as a master of manufacturing and as someone who understands the interconnectedness between manufacturing and technology is: what else do we need to do to encourage and advance industrial policy in the United States of America?” Stevens said. She pointed to the passing of the Chips and Science Act as an example of encouraging domestic semiconductor production.
“Now we are looking at other areas specific to supply chain vulnerabilities and vulnerabilities that will impact our economy, and we want to be competitive in quantum and artificial intelligence in addition to integrated circuits,” Stevens said.
— Steve Kovach of CNBC contributed to this report.
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