US senators have warned that US export controls may not be strong enough to stop China acquiring “secure sensitive technologies” through Hong Kong, and has asked the Trump administration to review the laws.
A group of bipartisan lawmakers, including Jim Risch and Bob Menendez, the Republican chairman and top Democrat on the senate foreign relations committee, and Mike Crapo and Sherrod Brown, the chairman and top Democrat on the senate banking committee, are among those calling for the review.
“We believe it is critical that the United States take appropriate measures to ensure China does not abuse Hong Kong’s special status under US law to steal or otherwise acquire critical or sensitive US equipment and technologies in support of its strategic objectives or to infringe on the rights of people in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and elsewhere,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was sent to secretary of state Mike Pompeo and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross.