On Thursday, a congressional report revealed that Sequoia Capital China, Qualcomm Ventures, and three other venture capital firms actively invested at least $3 billion in Chinese tech companies.
These companies are implicated in supporting Beijing’s military efforts and participating in the repression of minorities in Xinjiang. These prominent firms actively underscore their financial involvement in activities that raise ethical and humanitarian concerns.
The report was released by the House of Representatives’ China Select Committee, which is chaired by Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher. GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, and Walden International have made investments in Chinese artificial intelligence and semiconductor firms with questionable ties. Additionally, the analysis scrutinizes these investments.
Reuters could not reach the venture capital firms for comment.
The Committee urged the Biden administration to restrict US investment in Chinese firms sanctioned by the US government for ties to China’s military or repression of minorities. Additionally, they recommended broadening recent US investment restrictions in China to include more sectors.
“The status quo is untenable… Decades of investment—including funding, knowledge transfer, and other intangible benefits—from U.S. venture capital firms have helped build and strengthen the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) priority sectors,” the authors of the report stated.
Requests for comment were not returned by the White House.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that using national security and human rights as a pretext to restrict US investments in China “will undermine the principle of free trade…, destabilize the global…supply chains, and serve the interests of no one.”
Click here for more Business news.