The Washington Post-Chinese subsidies for drones chips put US at risk House panel says
June 25, 2024 4 min 645 words
这篇华盛顿邮报的报道主要内容是：美国众议院委员会指责中国通过补贴无人机芯片等行业，试图在相关领域主导全球市场，并可能在危机中对美国施加影响。该委员会称，中国公司生产的无人机占美国商业用无人机的90，业余爱好者用无人机的77。报道还提到了即将举行的听证会，听证会将讨论中国在无人机半导体造船和钢铁行业的做法，并提出可能的立法解决方案。该委员会认为中国在这些行业的补贴行为会对美国的经济和国家安全造成威胁。 评论： 该报道体现了美国政界和媒体对于中国科技发展对美国主导地位的挑战的担忧和焦虑。然而，报道也暴露出美国对于中国科技发展和政府作用的偏见和误解。 首先，报道忽略了中国企业在相关行业的创新和技术进步，而这正是它们在全球市场取得成功的重要原因。其次，报道过度强调中国政府的作用，认为中国企业的成功主要依靠政府补贴，而忽略了中国企业在公平市场竞争中取得的成就。最后，报道没有考虑到美国自身在科技发展和供应链安全方面存在的不足和问题，而过于强调中国科技发展带来的“威胁”。 该报道体现了西方媒体对于中国科技崛起的复杂心态，一方面不愿意承认中国企业的创新能力，另一方面又担心中国科技发展会挑战美国主导地位。因此，报道有失客观公正，有待进一步深入和多元的分析。
2024-06-25T18:54:45.719Z
The Chinese government is subsidizing a wide range of industries in a bid to dominate global markets and develop the ability to coerce the United States in a crisis, according to the new chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Chinese companies produce 90 percent of commercial drones used in the United States and 77 percent of those flown by hobbyists, according to committee data. And the Pentagon has been eyeing battlefields in Ukraine for lessons on the combat value of unmanned aerial vehicles.
“We shouldn’t be dependent on the CCP for technology,” said Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), the panel chairman, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “I believe it’s all hands on deck [for] winning this strategic competition and addressing the threats that the CCP has towards our way of life.”
On Wednesday, the committee is scheduled to hear testimony on Chinese practices in the drone, semiconductor, shipbuilding and steel industries, “areas where the Chinese Communist Party seeks dominance and wants to exploit vulnerabilities we have in our supply chain,” Moolenaar said in a telephone interview.
Among those scheduled to appear is Adam Bry, chief executive of drone maker Skydio. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company produces drones for both commercial and military use. Ukrainian officials use Skydio drones, which can conduct three-dimensional scans of surface terrain, to investigate potential war crimes, according to Bry’s LinkedIn page.
In March, Moolenaar’s panel, formally known as the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, called for “immediate action,” including new tariffs, to counter China’s drone dominance. The committee later this year may propose legislative remedies.
“We’ve seen the Chinese economic playbook repeatedly in steel, aluminum, glass, paper, consumer electronics and other industries. And that playbook has created great damage to our U.S. industrial base. And so, we don’t want to stand idle as they utilize that same playbook, especially with regard to strategic sectors that could affect our economic and national security,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the panel’s senior Democrat.
China provides lavish subsidies to companies in a range of industries. Total support for favored businesses amounts to almost 2 percent of output, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The $248 billion that China devoted to subsidies in 2019 exceeded its defense spending and was roughly twice what the United States spent, CSIS said.
Chinese steel mills, electric vehicle producers, semiconductor developers, solar panel manufacturers, shipbuilders and oil producers all benefit from a vast web of state backing. The central government doles out low-cost loans from state banks, free or inexpensive land, discounted electricity, and cash support from state investment funds.
The United States has complained about China’s industrial subsidies for years to little effect. World Trade Organization rules limit subsidies but do not prohibit them.
The Trump administration planned to press Beijing to overhaul its use of subsidies in negotiations intended to follow the “phase one” U.S.-China trade deal in 2020. But that never happened. President Biden recently imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, seeking to prevent subsidized auto imports from swamping the American market.
U.S. dependence on China for an array of goods and materials is the outgrowth of several decades of bipartisan trade policy.
“I believe there was a misunderstanding on the part of our country thinking that China would become more like the United States and that they would become more freedom loving, more free-market oriented, more based on the rule of law. And as the Chinese middle class grew, people would have expectations for their government to be more open,” Moolenaar said. “And unfortunately, the opposite is what happened.”