New Delhi [India], April 28 (ANI): Amid US efforts to clamp down on China’s access to advanced technologies that could be used for military purposes, a senior Biden administration official has said that Beijing has a “military-civil fusion strategy” which makes it very difficult for companies to know end users and really advanced technologies can be used for weapons modelling and to violate human rights through data surveillance.
Interacting with the media here, Thea D Rozman Kendler, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration said that the US government had last year put out rules against China’s acquisition of advanced circuitry that can be used for Artificial Intelligence and supercomputing and it is an area of focus.
Kendler, who is in India to build on the momentum of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit to the country last month, said the two countries share a common security outlook which makes cooperation much easier.
During her visit, Kendler met Indian government officials and industry to discuss dual-use export controls issues.
She also engaged in final planning for the US-India Strategic Trade Dialogue (USISTD), the first meeting of which is slated to be held in Washington next month.
Answering queries, she said that US does not want technological innovations to be used for harming global peace and security.
“United States and India share a common security outlook which makes cooperation much easier between us. We want to make sure that innovations we are working on together makes the world a better place and aren’t being used to harm global peace and security and so we have great cooperation with Indian government on all of that,” Kendler said.
“China is a difficult question because they have this military-civil fusion strategy which makes it very difficult for Indian companies, US companies to know end users. We ask the companies to do the diligence…if the government is going to take over the technology, if you don’t know if entity you are shipping to is sharing that commercial technology with a military actor, it is difficult for industry and we want to make sure that we are providing the best advice we can,” she added.
Kendler said the US is focused on emerging technologies and the semiconductors industry.
“We are really focused on emerging technology, certainly the semiconductors industry, we put up a rule last fall that was particularly targeted at the most advanced integrated circuits and China’s acquisition and production of those really advanced circuitry that can be used for Artificial Intelligence, supercomputing, so that’s a huge focus for us. Those technologies, really advanced technologies can be used for weapons modelling, certainly to violate human rights through data surveillance. These are all issues in AI sphere that we are paying a lot of attention to. It is also includes quantum an area of focus, biotechnology,” she added.
The US has enacted CHIPS and Science Act to lower costs, create jobs, strengthen Supply chains and counter China. Spurred by the passage of the Act, companies announced billions of dollars in additional investments in American semiconductor manufacturing.
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) had said in October last year that it is implementing a series of targeted updates to its export controls that will restrict China’s ability to both purchase and manufacture certain high-end chips used in military applications.
The measures were announced by the Biden administration as part of efforts to protect US national security and foreign policy interests.
The export controls were aimed at restricting China’s ability to obtain advanced computing chips, develop and maintain supercomputers, and manufacture advanced semiconductors.
“These items and capabilities are used by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to produce advanced military systems including weapons of mass destruction; improve the speed and accuracy of its military decision making, planning, and logistics, as well as of its autonomous military systems; and commit human rights abuses,” the US Department of Commerce had said.
The rules made it clear that foreign government actions that prevent BIS from making compliance determinations will impact a company’s access to US technology through addition to the Entity List.
Kendler had said that China has poured resources into developing supercomputing capabilities and seeks to become a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030 and is using these capabilities to monitor, track, and surveil its own citizens, and fuel its military modernization.
She had said that the US actions will protect its national security and foreign policy interests while also sending a clear message that US technological leadership is about values as well as innovation.
During US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s visit to India last month, India and US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Semiconductor Sub-Committee under the Commercial Dialogue between the two countries.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Secretary Raimondo launched “strategic trade dialogue” to address export controls, explore ways of enhancing high technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer between the two countries.
In a joint statement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Secretary Raimondo had welcomed the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which elevates and expands the strategic technology partnership between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries.
They noted the importance of coordinating with the standing mechanism established by the two governments under iCET, which aims to address regulatory barriers and other issues that impede smooth economic and commercial ties.
Both sides recognized the need for increased bilateral strategic and high technology trade and collaboration given the shared priority of building resilient and trusted global supply chains and the mutual interest in taking forward the outcomes of iCET.
The two leaders had announced the launch of a new Working Group on Talent, Innovation and Inclusive Growth under the Commercial Dialogue that would also support efforts under iCET, particularly in identifying specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation and fostering greater connectivity between our innovation ecosystem.
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022 to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of two countries.
NSA Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan led the inaugural meeting of the iCET in Washington in January this year. (ANI)
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