Business leaders slam US anti-China tech legislation

US-China Business Council calls out Congress for recent spending bill

American and Chinese firms have launched a blistering attack on a US spending bill which aims to snuff out government purchases of Chinese-made IT hardware.

In a recent letter to Congress, the US-China Business Council slammed the recent bill which requires law enforcement approval for any governmental purchase of foreign made technology. Council president John Frisbie called the legislation protectionist.

"The national security of the United States is critical, but it must not be used as a means of protectionism," wrote president of the US-China Business Council John Frisbie in a letter to Congress.

"As colleagues at other associations have recently noted to you, product security is a function of how a product is made, used, and maintained, rather than by whom or where it is made. Imposing a country-specific risk assessment creates a false sense of security if the goal is to improve our nation's cybersecurity."

Frisbie's comments come following the approval of US spending bill H.R. 933. Among the bill's provisions includes a ruling which requires government IT departments to get law enforcement approval before buying hardware from foreign companies.

Commentators have lambasted the bill for its potential ability to damage technology firm's governmental sales. Some have said the bill could hurt domestic firm's that buy components from businesses abroad.

The Council alleges that the recent spending bill is part of a continued assault on China's technology industry. In the letter, Frisbie points to the recent Huawei case as another attempt by US officials to disparage private Chinese businesses.

Late last year, Congress formed a committee to look into potential collusion between Huawei and the Chinese government. Congress alleged that the private company was assisting the Chinese government's attempts to hack into US systems.

Following the investigation, no proof of collusion was discovered. Huawei executives have said the investigation hurt the company's quarterly US sales.

US and China relations have continued to be strained following the release of a recent Mandiant report.

The report alleged that the Chinese government had performed cyber attacks on over 141 private companies. China has denied all allegations stemming from the report.