TLDR:
- Five venture capital (VC) firms, including Sequoia Capital China and Qualcomm Ventures, have invested at least $3 billion in Chinese tech companies involved in military activities and repression of minorities in Xinjiang, according to a US congressional report.
- The report calls on the Biden administration to restrict US investment in Chinese firms sanctioned for ties to China’s military or repression of minorities, and expand recent curbs on investment in China to cover more sectors.
US lawmakers have accused five venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital China and Qualcomm Ventures, of investing at least $3 billion in Chinese technology companies that support Beijing’s military activities and repression of minorities in Xinjiang. This allegation was made in a congressional report released by the House of Representatives’ select committee on China. The report also investigates the investments made by GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, and Walden International in Chinese artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies with questionable associations. The report calls on the Biden administration to limit US investment in Chinese companies that have been sanctioned by the US government due to their connections to China’s military or repression of minorities. It also urges the administration to expand recent restrictions on US investment in China to include more sectors.
The report argues that the current situation is unsustainable, claiming that decades of investment and support from US VC firms have helped strengthen priority sectors of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, the White House has not responded to requests for comment. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has condemned the use of national security and human rights as pretexts to restrict US investment in China, arguing that such actions would undermine the principle of free trade and disrupt global supply chains.
