[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 195 (Thursday, December 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7207-S7208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 China

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this morning, the Biden administration 
announced they are taking action to counter the Chinese Communist 
Party's threat to our national security. Just a few moments ago, the 
Department of Commerce said they would formally add Wuhan-based YMTC 
and 35 other Chinese companies to the so-called Entity List, blocking 
them from purchasing critical technology from American businesses.
  I am glad this decision has finally arrived because I have long 
sounded the alarm on the economic and national security threats posed 
by YMTC and other CCP-backed technology companies, like CXMT and SMIC. 
YMTC poses an immediate threat to our national security so the Biden 
administration needed to act swiftly to prevent YMTC from gaining even 
an inch of military or economic advantage. I am glad that they are 
heeding our calls as well as calls from other Members on both sides of 
the aisle.
  Of course, YMTC is a well-known chip supplier for Huawei, one of the 
biggest companies that pose a risk to U.S. security interests. Any 
supplier of Huawei is no friend of the United States because the risks 
are too great and the entanglements of these companies with CCP and 
Chinese military are too treacherous. This is a necessary and prudent 
step by the administration.
  The administration's announcement also comes on the heels of my 
amendment with Senator Cornyn to the National Defense Act that would 
remove YMTC as well as SMIC and CXMT from our Federal supply chains 
entirely. It is a one-two punch: The administration blacklists these 
companies from doing business, and here in Congress we will shut them 
out even further from U.S. supply chains. Of course, this is about more 
than just a single group of businesses stretching their tentacles into 
our country. It is about holding firm against a CCP that has become 
more emboldened and oppressive over the recent years.
  The 21st century will be largely shaped by our two giant economies. 
For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has cheated their way to the 
top by piggybacking off American technologies and American IP, with 
huge implications for our security and for our edge in AI, cyber 
security, telecom, and other major technologies. Whoever masters the 
technologies of tomorrow will be able to reshape the world in their 
image this century. And if the CCP gets there first, it will spell dark 
times for democracy, for freedom, and for American prosperity and 
American jobs.
  Today's decision by the administration will provide one more firewall 
we

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all need to keep the CCP's authoritarian designs in check. I applaud 
the administration for taking this important step.