Tech Diplomacy Now: Biden Administration nears decision on restricting investments in China
For months, rumors have circulated that President Biden will issue an executive order restricting U.S. citizens from investing in critical and emerging technologies in the PRC.
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Top News of the Week – Biden Administration nears decision on restricting investments in China
For months, rumors have circulated that President Biden will issue an executive order restricting U.S. citizens from investing in critical and emerging technologies in the PRC. This comes after years of controversy surrounding the actions of venture capitalists and private equity firms that pour money into companies involved with modernizing the Chinese military.
This wouldn’t be the first investment restrictions on U.S. citizens when it comes to China. Late in the Trump Administration, the President issued an executive order prohibiting U.S. citizens and companies from investing in or doing business with PRC defense companies (EO 13959 – Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies). Eight months later, President Biden reinforced that prohibition by issuing his own executive order prohibiting investments in the PRC’s military-industrial complex.
While the expected restrictions will likely be narrow in scope and may simply involve reporting requirements, the Administration’s intervention is expected to further chill investor sentiment towards the PRC. One likely casualty of this action, that hasn’t even taken place yet, is the decision by Sequoia Capital to split into three separate firms and for the U.S. partners to limit their exposure to China.
The action is also expected to make it even more difficult for third countries to straddle the growing Sino-American rivalry.
More background:
U.S. Aims to Curtail Technology Investment in China – NYTs, February 9, 2023
White House nears unprecedented action on U.S. investment in China – Politico, April 18, 2023
Restrictions on Private-Equity and Venture Investment in China Expected Soon – WSJ, June 26, 2023
Sequoia Made a Fortune Investing in the U.S. and China. Then It Had to Pick One. – WSJ, June 27, 2023
Biden Administration Weighs Further Curbs on Sales of A.I. Chips to China – NYTs, June 28, 2023
Announcements
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and The Institute of World Politics hosted the webinar: Iran Today: Between Domestic Unrest and the Race for the Bomb.
This virtual event brought together leading experts on Iran and nuclear technology to discuss the current situation in Iran is at continues its mission to achieve nuclear breakout while grappling with increasing domestic unrest.
The webinar was moderated by Dr. James S. Robbins, Dean of Academics, IWP and will feature panelists Professor Lefteri H. Tsoukalas, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University and Senior Research Fellow at KITDP, Ellie Cohanim, Advisory Council Member of KITDP and former US Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, and Gabriel Noronha, Executive Director of POLARIS National Security and former Special Advisor for the Iran Action Group at the State Department.
Purdue Assistant Professor and Machine Learning Expert Christopher G. Brinton Joins the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy as a Research Fellow
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue continues to expand its deep network of technology experts with the addition of Purdue Assistant Professor Christopher G. Brinton as a Research Fellow, who brings expertise at the intersection of networking, communications and machine learning.
Prior to joining Purdue University, he served as the Associate Director of the EDGE Lab at Princeton University. He is the co-founder of a big data startup, Zoomi Inc., which specializes in learning optimization for more than 1 million users worldwide.
“As we look to unlock the opportunities and mitigate the risks of AI, the combined engineering and commercial expertise that Dr. Brinton brings to the Institute is critical,” said Michelle Giuda, Chief Executive Officer of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. “Dr. Brinton’s teaching career at Purdue University and expertise in data and machine learning will add value to what is already a deep bench of technology expertise across the Institute’s global network.”
Read the full announcement here.
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Technology Strategy and Policy
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Artificial Intelligence
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Amazon’s New Robots Are Rolling Out an Automation Revolution – Wired, June 26, 2023
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Purdue Assistant Professor and Machine Learning Expert Christopher G. Brinton Joins the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy as a Research Fellow – Krach Institute, June 28, 2023
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Here’s how much each state will get in the $42.5 billion broadband infrastructure plan – CNN, June 26, 2023
Oracle spending 'billions' on Nvidia chips this year, Ellison says – Reuters, June 28, 2023
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Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $40 Billion to Connect Everyone in America to Affordable, Reliable, High-Speed Internet – Executive Office of the President, June 26, 2023
Digitalization in Eurasia: Tool for Regional Resilience – Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Summer 2023
Critical Minerals
Batteries beat oil and gas as AI startup pivots to critical minerals exploration – TechCrunch, June 29, 2023
The U.S. Strategic Minerals Situation Is Critical – Foreign Policy, June 30, 2023
Synthetic Biology
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Two companies can now sell lab-grown chicken in the US – MIT Technology Review, June 21, 2023
Quantum
Quantum Computing is the Future — But We May Lose the Race if We Don’t Act Now – The Messenger, June 27, 2023
Quantum Breakthrough: The First Ever Realization of a Laughlin State – SciTechDaily, July 1, 2023
Quantum biology: Your nose and house plant are experts at particle physics – Big Think, July 1, 2023
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Moon risks rise as U.S.-China don't communicate in space – Axios, June 27, 2023
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Japan Unveils $6 Billion Deal to Buy Out Chip Linchpin JSR – Bloomberg, June 26, 2023
Can China Achieve Semiconductor Self-Sufficiency? – The National Interest, June 26, 2023
TSMC to send hundreds more workers to speed U.S. plant construction – Nikkei Asia, June 29, 2023
U.S. Considers New Curbs on AI Chip Exports to China – WSJ, June 27, 2023
Energy and Climate
Ford Gets $9.2 Billion to Help US Catch Up with China’s EV Dominance – Bloomberg, June 22, 2023
Industrial heat startup Rondo to open world’s largest battery factory – Canary Media, June 27, 2023
Buying renewable energy doesn’t mean what you think – Washington Post, June 21, 2023
Opinion and Commentary
The global industrial arms race is just what we need – Financial Times, June 25, 2023
What Drives Putin and Xi – Orville Schell and Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, June 30, 2023
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of a new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.