A key member of an influential US House of Representatives committee focused on China has indicated that Donald Trump might be willing to accept significant Chinese investment in America, despite signing a memo last week signalling the opposite.
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“I think that maybe President Trump is willing to entertain potentially significant investments by Chinese-controlled companies in the United States for certain purposes,” said Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, Krishnamoorthi, a leading voice on tech policy, said he was “not totally opposed” to Trump on that front and open to discussions on inbound Chinese investment “so long as we are cognisant of any national security implications”.
“I think potentially licensing their technology can enable us to catch up and then overtake them, just as they have with regard to our technology in China,” he added.
Krishnamoorthi’s comments, made in a joint appearance with committee chair John Moolenaar, reflect the ambiguity of the Trump administration’s approach to China amid the US president’s propensity for sudden policy reversals in his pursuit of deals.
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The Trump administration is reportedly eyeing a new trade deal with the world’s second-largest economy, with Chinese investment in the US potentially on the table.