WASHINGTON–Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are warning that China’s push to acquire artificial intelligence technology poses a growing national security threat, as concerns mount over how Beijing is accessing and acquiring U.S. systems and materials.
China remains heavily dependent on American technology, particularly advanced semiconductor chips and leading AI models, even as it invests billions to build its own domestic industry. That dependence has led the Chinese government to procure technology through legal and illicit means, ranging from smuggling operations to intellectual property theft.
Officials say access to computing power, the chips and infrastructure needed to train AI, has emerged as the central factor in U.S.-China competition. While the U.S. leads in models and hardware, China has focused on widespread adoption and improving efficiency, raising questions over the longevity of that advantage.
Why is China so desperate to acquire US‑designed chips?
“The reason is obvious. AI is truly transformative technology,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
“It’s essential for the United States to maintain a decisive lead in the AI race,” Moolenaar said during a recent hearing of his committee. “We cannot afford a future where Beijing dominates this technology.”
These concerns have fueled broader debate in Congress over whether current export regulations go far enough to keep chips and other technologies out of China’s hands.
“The task for Congress is to pass legislation that will stop China’s multi pronged effort to legally and illegally acquire America’s tech stack to use it against us,” Moolenaar said.
Some lawmakers argue the problem extends beyond illicit means, pointing to areas that may allow China legal access to parts of American AI infrastructure. A recent committee investigation titled, “Buy What It Can, Steal What It Must,” found China is the “largest market for chipmaking equipment despite restrictions” and may be able to access U.S. computing power through the cloud. It has exploited weaknesses in export enforcement, according to the report.
The committee investigation also raised concerns about increasingly sophisticated efforts to obtain restricted technology, including the use of shell companies and smuggling networks. It also pointed to other issues, including theft of trade secrets and efforts to extract capabilities from U.S. AI models.
Some lawmakers have also argued that the issue is not whether China gets access to advanced chips, but whether those sales use up limited manufacturing capacity and memory that could otherwise support U.S. AI development. Others have raised concerns that export regulations focus too much on where chips are sent, rather than on who may ultimately be able to use that computing power.
One proposal drawing attention is the MATCH Act, a bipartisan measure aimed at tightening export laws on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and aligning U.S. restrictions with those of key allies. The legislation would seek to prevent foreign adversaries from acquiring “chokepoint” technologies they cannot produce domestically by coordinating with countries that currently dominate the global chipmaking supply chain.
The bill is part of a broader legislative push that includes proposals targeting advanced chip exports, cloud access and regulation gaps. Lawmakers have also pointed to bills that would increase oversight of AI chip sales, restrict remote access to U.S. computing power and crack down on shell companies and other networks used to move restricted technology.
For many lawmakers, the question is no longer whether China is trying to catch up in artificial intelligence, but whether the U.S. can move quickly enough to protect the advantages it still holds.