East Michigan News

Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party have expressed concerns about China's expanding silicon photonics industry. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, they emphasized the need for measures to protect American national security and competitiveness in this emerging technology sector.

Photonics technology, which uses light particles to transmit information, is seen as a potential game-changer in semiconductor competition. The letter highlighted that "some experts believe photonic chips can offer a 1,000-fold improvement in computational speed compared to existing electronic chip designs." This could significantly impact U.S.-China technological competition.

Chinese state-owned enterprises are investing heavily in photonics, recognizing its dual-use military applications. Chen Wenling, an economist at a PRC government think tank, has identified silicon photonics as a field where China could potentially overtake the United States.

Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi urged the U.S. government to prevent American investment from supporting adversaries while boosting domestic innovation. They suggested that Commerce should investigate leading Chinese photonics companies and consider amending the Commerce Control List (CCL) to include silicon photonics equipment explicitly.

The lawmakers posed several questions to Secretary Raimondo regarding national security threats from China's silicon photonics industry and requested a briefing by December 1, 2024.