Senators Plug Bills on China Sanctions, Outbound Investment

Congress should get on with passing long-standing legislation on China sanctions and outbound investment, two Republican senators said during a panel discussion at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado last week.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, promoted his Outbound Investment Transparency Act, which would require U.S. companies to notify the Treasury Department before making certain investments in several “countries of concern,” including China.

"We need eyes on exactly how that money is being spent because, frankly, there [are] a lot of American investors who are making money on these investments in China that are dual-use technology that can be used to kill Marines in the Indo-Pacific, and that should cause us all concern," Cornyn said.

Cornyn’s bill, which he put forth with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., was included in the Senate version of the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) but did not make it into the final NDAA that Congress passed in December 2023 (see 2312070054). Cornyn continues to look for ways to get his bill enacted into law, a spokesperson said in May.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said his Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies (STAND) with Taiwan Act could help deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan by threatening to impose “massive economic, financial and energy” sanctions on China if such an attack were to occur (see 2201250068). Sullivan introduced the bill in January 2022 and re-introduced it in March 2023.

Also during the panel discussion, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, plan to introduce a Sudan bill. Although Coons didn't provide details, Risch has urged the Biden administration to consider sanctioning a Sudanese militia group for human rights violations (see 2404190068).