Biden launches ‘unprecedented’ investigation into ‘national security’ threat from Chinese auto exports

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, February 29, that he was launching an "unprecedented" investigation into concerns that high-tech Chinese cars pose "risks to our national security" and that they could potentially be "remotely accessed or disabled" on American roads if they are indeed being used to steal sensitive data.

The 81-year-old Commander-in-Chief asserted in a statement, “China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices.”

He continued, “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.”

What did Joe Biden say regarding the probe against Chinese auto manufacturers?

The way contemporary automobiles are "connected to our phones, to navigation systems, to critical infrastructure and to the companies that made them," according to Biden, poses a grave and imminent threat.

“Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the People’s Republic of China,” the POTUS cautioned.

He indicated that even cars made in the country with high-tech Chinese parts could be rendered inoperable, according to the New York Post.

“Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?” Biden posited.

“So today, I am announcing unprecedented actions to ensure that cars on US roads from countries of concern like China do not undermine our national security,” he stated, adding that the probe would be spearheaded by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

The investigation will not impose any immediate constraints on the import or sale of Chinese-manufactured vehicles, which are gaining popularity in Europe and Asia, per The Washington Post.

However, the regulating agency will have the authority to restrict or prohibit the sale of such automobiles if it detects significant risk, pursuant to a Trump-era executive order that granted the President the power to safeguard national security by protecting domestic information and communication technology from potential threats.

Additionally, the agency will gather information from American manufacturers, including the source of their licensing software.

What prompted President Joe Biden to make this announcement?

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by House Energy Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Chair of the China Select Committee Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), first voiced concerns about Chinese companies gathering and managing sensitive data while testing self-driving cars in the US, just three months prior to the announcement of the investigation.

In a correspondence addressed to the Chinese manufacturers of self-driving cars, the representatives stated that the firms “collect sensitive information about our citizens and their daily routines, the nation’s infrastructure and connected technologies.”

“There needs to be greater transparency about what information you collect while testing on American roads and whether you are financially tied to the Chinese Communist Party,” they contended.

Nonetheless, the China Passenger Car Association expressed discontent with the Biden administration's decision to single out its vehicles and impose restrictions exclusively on them.

The association argues that such action is unjust, given that numerous contemporary automobiles are equipped with intelligent sensors.

Similarly, the Chinese Embassy followed suit in criticizing the Biden administration's proposals to limit Chinese trade and has urged the government to “stop hyping up the ‘China threat’ theory and its unwarranted suppression of Chinese companies.”

Biden's ongoing national security investigation additionally aims to safeguard American automakers from the growing competition posed by China.

The Communist nation became the world's largest auto exporter in the previous year, shipping 5.26 million vehicles overseas, according to the China Passenger Car Association, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

“As president, I vowed to do right by auto workers and middle-class families that depend on the auto industry for jobs,” Biden stated on Thursday.

“With this and other actions, we’re going to make sure the future of the auto industry will be made here in America with American workers,” he promised.

Internet weighs in as Joe Biden announces investigation

People on X expressed their immediate reaction to the news of the Biden administration launching a probe into potential security threats of Chinese vehicles on US roads which the Communist country could tap into for espionage and other detrimental purposes.

One X user remarked, “Lol ya think? It's a little late."

"Newsome is literally trying to make a law to remotely disable vehicles. Our own governments are just as evil if not more evil than any foreign government," another user claimed. 

Another user snarked, "Is the administration upset that China is doing it or just that they haven't provided US intelligence with a back door?"

One user wrote, "Who the Hell do you think you’re fooling? China currently OWNS The Whitehouse!"

Another X user quipped: ".@CIA is captured by Mossad. They have to conjure up Chinese 'spying' to prove they are working?"

One user tweeted, "US, lagging behind Chinese technological ingenuity, has resorted to uncompetitive trade practices, in a feeble attempt to suppress the Chinese advancement. US's obsession with engineering false flag Chinese spy stories is a lame excuse to cover their technological inferiority."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.