Microsoft, Apple & Google met with lawmakers to talk relationships with China
During a recent three-day meeting in California, companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google met with lawmakers to discuss matters pertaining to China.
Lawmaker interest in corporate relations with China continue to be relevant topics of conversation, as seen with recent meetings between lawmakers and members of major tech and media companies.
As reported by outlets like CNBC, a delegation of 10 lawmakers from the House Select Committee on China met with CEOs and executives from companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google in California to discuss matters pertaining to working with and even competing with China.
The meeting, which spanned three days of talks and presentations, featured the likes of Disney CEO Bob Iger, Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as high-level executives from Google, Microsoft, Palantir, and Scale AI. Matters discussed included experiences working with China, the role tech and media industries play in America’s increasingly complex relationship with China, and areas of dependence on Chinese audiences and workforces.
More specifically, as noted by CNBC, meetings with Disney CEO Bob Iger focused more on topics relevant to Disney like censorship, including censoring media to avoid offending the Chinese government, and edit requests received from the Chinese government required to be made in order to show films in the country.
Meanwhile, Microsoft President, Brad Smith, did a presentation focused on artificial intelligence and how narrow the gap is between the U.S. and China in regards to developing generative AI like ChatGPT. Smith also delved into subject matter including rare mineral mining and processing in China required to make key components used in a wide variety of devices, like computer chips.
With these meetings, lawmakers like Rep. Ro Khanna, a committee member representing Silicon Valley, shared with CNBC how he was excited for colleagues on the committee to visit his home district in California. He also stressed the value of lawmakers having opportunities like these to learn more about technology like AI and quantum computing.
“I think it would be wise for every member of Congress to spend a week in Silicon Valley,” Khanna said in the interview with CNBC. “Technology is going to define so many fields from the economy to national security to our issues of citizenship, and we need people to be immersed in it, at least understanding it.”
Khanna went on to say he anticipates business leaders will be able to help further inform policymakers of progress being made on matters like diversifying supply chains out of China. For example, Khanna met with Apple CEO Tim Cook during the California meeting to discuss some of these issues. According to Khanna, Cook spoke to him "candidly about the supply chain issues" including the complexities and current progress in expanding production outside of China.
It'll be interesting to see moving forward whether more of these meetings will be held, and how effective they'll be when it comes to creating policies pertaining to areas of tech, and U.S. relations with China. For more on what was discussed during the meeting, be sure to read through the full report from CNBC.
Also check out some of our previous tech coverage, including Capcom having removed Denuvo DRM from Resident Evil Village on Steam, and Sony recently filing a patent for temperature changing material to use in PS5 controllers.
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