Haley Calls for End to US-China Sensitive Tech Exports, Investments

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she would block all exports of sensitive technology to China and put in place new investment restrictions on Chinese purchases of agricultural land if she is elected to the White House. Haley, the former U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration who announced her 2024 presidential candidacy earlier this year, said President Joe Biden is “not up to the task” of protecting U.S. national security from risks posed by China and previewed several new policies that could cut off a range of trade between the two countries.

Speaking during a June 27 event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, Haley suggested she would end export licenses for sensitive technology exports to China. She said the current system, overseen by the Bureau of Industry and Security, is “not a blacklist. We still let companies send this tech to China -- they just have to follow the right application.”

“We must end the export of sensitive technology to China -- full stop,” she said, specifically mentioning artificial intelligence and quantum computing. “And we must keep China away from our biggest breakthroughs and cutting-edge companies.”

Haley also said the U.S. should do more to block Chinese acquisitions of American companies working with advanced technologies and block outbound investments in similar Chinese companies. “We should block any Chinese purchase of an American company specializing in advanced technology,” she said. “No more exports and no more acquisitions -- period.”

She also suggested she would work to expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to prevent Chinese companies from purchasing farm land, including land near U.S. military bases. Not only should the U.S. “prevent China from buying more land,” it should also “force it to sell what it already has,” Haley said, referencing a process in which CFIUS forces foreign investors to unwind past deals that pose national security risks.

Lawmakers have proposed legislation that could block China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from investing in American land or agricultural companies, although it remains unclear if CFIUS would have enough resources to implement those restrictions (see 2306020027). Chinese purchases of agricultural land received heightened scrutiny last year after CFIUS decided not to intervene in China-based Fufeng Group's attempted purchase of North Dakota farmland near Grand Forks Air Force Base (see 2212150035 and 2302070028).

Haley said Chinese investors have bought nearly 400,000 acres of U.S. land in “recent years,” including “miles of farms near sensitive” military bases. “This must end,” she said. “The line between Chinese investors and the Chinese Communist Party is exceptionally thin.” CFIUS recently proposed adding eight new military bases, including Grand Forks, to the list of military installations subject to its jurisdiction (see 2305040052).

Haley also would implement outbound investment restrictions, which are currently underway by the Biden administration (see 2305310075). Although not all U.S. investments in China are “funding military and technology breakthroughs,” Haley said, “much of it is.”

“The American people deserve better,” she said. “I will protect our investors and our national security. No more investments in any company that helps the Chinese military or supports" the Chinese Communist Party, "period.”

If she is elected president, Haley said, she also will “push” Congress to revoke permanent normal trade relations with China for as long as Chinese companies continue to send fentanyl precursor chemicals to the U.S. and Mexico. She said China is “behind the fentanyl crisis that’s killing tens of thousands of Americans every year,” and Chinese companies “make nearly all of the precursor chemicals that Mexican cartels turn into fentanyl.”

“We’ve tried sanctions, but they’re not working,” Haley said. “We must ratchet up the pressure” by ending normal trade relations with Beijing. ‘If China wants to start normal trade again,” she said, “it will stop killing Americans.”

Haley also said she would do more to deter a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, saying she would let Beijing know that an invasion would “not just be met with a few slap on the wrist sanctions. It would mean a full-blown economic decoupling and would massively damage China.”

“The actions I have laid out today were needed yesterday. They should be implemented, tomorrow,” Haley said, adding that “a new president is needed.”