US agency fails to keep technology away from Chinese military: Report | Science and Technology Issues

A report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission states that the Department of Commerce delayed the development of a list of smart technologies that should be investigated before shipping to China.

The United States Department of Commerce is failing to do its part to protect national security and to maintain intelligence in the hands of Chinese military, according to a US intelligence report to Reuters news agency.

A report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which will be released on Tuesday, says the Commerce department has delayed the development of a list of smart technologies to be investigated before shipping to China.

Failure to establish a list of emerging and start-up technologies, in line with the 2018 law, could exacerbate national security threats, the report said.

The Department of Commerce, which has been given the mandate to enforce U.S. export laws, “has so far failed to meet its obligations,” said the report, Unfinished Business: Export Control and Foreign Investment Reforms.

In a statement, the Treasury Department declined to comment directly on the shortcomings of the list but noted that it had published four regulations on the technical regulations that are coming out and others are expected.

It also said it has expanded the law for end-users and added companies to their list, which prevents U.S. retailers from selling to companies such as Huawei Technologies and Hangzhou Hikvision.

In 2018, Congress promoted foreign trade policy in the US and a way to monitor foreign exchange in response to the efforts of Chinese corporations to gain expertise in the US and to use military strategy.

The report doubts whether the delay over two years beyond the list should be investigated by the Commerce Department’s chief executive officer. It also asks if the responsibility for setting up external trials should be delegated to another organization.

Congress enacted the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to make it difficult to transfer important technologies to enemies like China.

The Act mandated that the Commerce Department work with other agencies to identify technologies that are visible, or less so-called technologies necessary for the production of large objects such as semiconductors, which need to be adjusted.

In November 2018, the department published 45 examples of emerging technologies, including face recognition and voice recognition, but no list was completed. And it did not provide a list of starting technologies, instead of asking for help in August on how to define the team.

The report noted what the Department of Commerce did.

The department has decided to oversee genetic modification programs, which would make it easier to develop natural weapons but the rule has not been finalized. It also issued a temporary rule on geospatial images affecting AI networks.

Supervised expertise has also received much attention, in addition to exports to promote human rights, which have been used in Xinjiang to build a small number of Muslim Uyghurs. But the department is not yet in control of new types of monitoring programs, the report said.

The US-China Commission was convened by Congress 20 years ago to explain national security and trade with China. He is now led by Carolyn Bartholomew, who has been nominated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.