Politico | US senators want Trump probe of China’s new corporate social credit system
- Lawmakers fear programme could be used to coerce US firms to move research activities to China, hand over technology or support Chinese policies
- Citing NBA tweet controversy, senators say system would further normalise Beijing’s ability to influence opinion toward foreign companies
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Adam Behsudi on politico.com on December 2, 2019.
A bipartisan group of 25 senators is pressing the Trump administration to investigate the impact of a new programme China is implementing to monitor the behaviour of domestic and international companies that operate in the country.
“What our country witnessed recently with respect to the National Basketball Association (NBA) over a tweet by one American team’s general manager is not an aberration, but the latest in a litany of attempts by China to deploy its state and economic power to bend American entities to its will,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday.
China's so-called corporate social credit system will use an algorithmic system to collect data that will grade a company's contributions toward supporting China's economic system.
The lawmakers said they worry it could be used to coerce US companies to move research activities to China, hand over technology or support Chinese industrial and foreign policies.