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Apple Inc. and Walt-Disney Co. are among the US companies facing the toughest challenges of a "selective decoupling" from China, a key lawmaker said after a series of meetings with executives and experts in Hollywood and Silicon Valley this week. week. Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of a House committee focused on US-China competition, met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Disney CEO Bob Iger as part of a tour of three days around California to learn more about how companies handle stress. between the two largest economies in the world. "Apple is at the center of what is the most complex aspect of this competition, which is that companies that have a massive presence in China will have to deal with the fact that some form of selective economic decoupling is inevitable," Gallagher said. . on a phone. interview. "Will continue."
Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican, and his Democratic counterpart, Raja Krishnamoorthi, led a group of about half a dozen lawmakers through a busy schedule filled with meetings with technology and entertainment executives. The agenda included lunch with Cook and executives from Google, Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.'s Palantir Technologies Inc., and dinner with a dozen prominent venture capitalists, including Marc Andreessen and Vinod Khosla.
Lawmakers also met with Iger and other Hollywood executives to discuss concerns about American entertainment companies censoring their content for the Chinese market. The trip was part of an effort by lawmakers on the newly created committee to get out of Washington, DC, and listen to the private sector.
Gallagher said that despite recent tensions, including China's military maneuvers in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen's visit to New York and California, he did not see a full break with China in the near future. Instead, there will be "selective decoupling" that will see some supply chains of sensitive materials gradually move out of China, a process he acknowledges is complicated and costly for companies.
He said that in his talks with industry executives, most wanted "clear, clear lines from the government" on areas of China's economy they should stay away from.
There was "almost unanimous" support for restrictions on outward investment in Chinese-developed artificial intelligence, Gallagher said, as well as restrictions on investment in other key areas such as quantum computing, bioengineering, advanced semiconductors and other technologies that could be used for military purposes. .
The Biden administration has been working on a program that would restrict investment in certain sectors of the Chinese economy and require reporting in other areas, but those plans have yet to be finalized. Gallagher said he doesn't see Congress moving forward on outbound investment legislation until lawmakers see what the administration has planned.
The only exception to the selective decoupling scenario is if China decides to take military action against Taiwan, in which case all bets are off, Gallagher said.
“I think people always tend to overlook the probability of a kinetic confrontation with China over Taiwan,” he said. "We still have questions we want to ask these companies and this was the start of a much broader and longer line of effort for the select committee."
