US Commerce Department Approves Nearly All Tech Exports to China - Reports

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2022) US Commerce Department data indicates requests for tech exports to China are nearly all approved, with sales of some technologies even on the increase, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Amid the US' increasing technological competition with China that saw the CHIPS and Science Act signed into law earlier this month, Commerce Department data indicates that the Bureau of Industry and Security required a license for less than half a percent of the country's $125 billion in tech exports to China in 2020. Of that percentage, it approved 94% or 2,652 applications.

Dozens of current and former US officials told The Wall Street Journal that the US exports control process is part of the debate over US trade with China.

Some critics say the Commerce Department is prioritizing commercial over national security interests, calling for a regulatory overhaul.

The US still sends to China semiconductors, aerospace parts, and AI technology, among other items that have potential military applications, the report said. The Department of Defense's former leading analyst on China export controls, Steve Coonen, resigned in September 2021 in protest against the high rate of approvals of tech exports with potential military uses.