While U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California today is angering Beijing, a key House panel’s discussions this week with several American companies about China’s growing influence on their industries are also likely to ruffle feathers in the world’s second-biggest economy.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers from the chamber’s Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party was expected to meet on Wednesday in Los Angeles with Walt Disney Co.
DIS,
CEO Bob Iger and other entertainment-industry leaders.
On Thursday, the committee members are slated to meet in the Bay Area with Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
President Brad Smith, executives from Alphabet Inc.
GOOG,
GOOGL,
and Palantir Technologies Inc.
PLTR,
and other tech-industry figures, and they are due to talk on Friday with Apple Inc.
AAPL,
CEO Tim Cook, according to multiple published reports.
The chair of the select committee, Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, has been taking a tough stance toward U.S. enterprises that do business in China.
Gallagher said in a radio interview in January that “Big Tech has to confront the growing suspicion about their allegiances” and referred to “greedy executives in Hollywood.” He also promised to have Iger and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver testify before his panel. This month, the congressman has been among the U.S. lawmakers highlighting security concerns over the technology in cargo cranes made by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.
600320,
also known as ZPMC.
Apple generates about 18% of its revenue from mainland China, according to FactSet data. For both Disney and Alphabet, China accounts for 4% of revenue; for Microsoft, it’s 12%; and for Palantir, it’s 7%.
Both Democrats and Republicans appear increasingly eager to take a firm stand against Beijing. Signs of that came last month when TikTok’s CEO was grilled at a Capitol Hill hearing, as well as in January when the narrowly divided House voted overwhelmingly in favor of setting up the Select Committee on the CCP .
“Congress, in our view, has determined that the status quo of U.S.-China relations is unacceptable, but lawmakers have yet to arrive at a shared legislative roadmap,” said Benjamin Salisbury, director of research at Height Capital Markets, in a note this week.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy met at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Wednesday. Tsai is on what is officially a stopover between Latin America and Taiwan.
AFP via Getty Images
“In that void, the Select Committee is likely to shape much of Congress’s rhetorical and legislative agenda,” he said.
McCarthy, a California Republican, and Tsai made brief remarks on Wednesday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., after their closed-door meeting, which was attended by members of the Select Committee on the CCP and other House lawmakers.
“The friendship between the people of Taiwan and America is a matter of profound importance to the free world, and it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability,” McCarthy said.
Taiwan is a self-governing island that is claimed by China.
“It is no secret that today the peace that we have maintained and the democracy which we have worked hard to build are facing unprecedented challenges,” Tsai said.
“We once again find ourselves in a world where democracy is under threat, and the urgency of keeping the beacon of freedom shining cannot be understated. President Reagan said it best: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation,” she added.
Now read: Taiwan defies China pressure before its president meets Kevin McCarthy
And see: Biden White House says China shouldn’t ‘react harshly’ to Taiwan leader’s visit to U.S.
Plus: China is not only asserting itself geopolitically but openly questioning the U.S.’s central role
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