Countering Communist China Act, Title I ("Matters Related to Trade, Investment, and Economic Relations"), Sec. 102 ("Sanctions with Respect to Communist Chinese Military and Surveillance Companies")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Competitive dynamics
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has good coverage of approximately 6-8 subdomains, with strong focus on malicious actors (4.1, 4.2), AI system security (2.2), competitive dynamics (6.4), and dangerous capabilities (7.2). Coverage is concentrated in security, national security threats, and strategic competition domains.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Information
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• National Security

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Professional & Technical Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document primarily governs the National Security sector through sanctions on defense and surveillance technology operations. It also has significant coverage of Information (AI, telecommunications, data), Scientific Research and Development Services (AI research, biotechnology, quantum computing), and Professional and Technical Services (cybersecurity). Manufacturing is covered through semiconductors and advanced materials.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative statute enacted by the United States Congress that imposes mandatory sanctions with specific enforcement mechanisms, penalties, and legal obligations on the President and executive agencies.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a Congressional Act ('Countering Communist China Act') enacted by the United States Congress, which is the legislative body that proposed and enacted this governance instrument.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Entities: Foreign persons engaged in defense and related materiel sector or surveillance technology sector of the People's Republic of China; Foreign persons listed in the Annex to Executive Order 14032; Foreign persons on the Military End User List; Foreign persons on the Denied Persons List or Entity List
• Summary: The document targets foreign persons (individuals or entities that are not United States persons) who knowingly engage in significant operations in the defense and related materiel sector or the surveillance technology sector of the economy of the People's Republic of China, with particular focus on AI development activities including artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomy, semiconductors, quantum computing, and related technologies.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: President of the United States; Secretary of the Treasury; Secretary of State; Secretary of Defense; Secretary of Commerce
• Summary: The President is designated as the primary enforcer who must impose sanctions and exercise powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with other Cabinet secretaries, makes determinations about which foreign persons should be sanctioned and submits annual reports.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of the Treasury; Committee on Foreign Affairs; Committee on Financial Services; Committee on Foreign Relations; Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
• Summary: The Secretary of the Treasury is required to undertake annual determinations and submit reports to appropriate congressional committees. The congressional committees (Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Foreign Relations, and Banking) receive reports and monitor implementation.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Build and Use Model
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document does not explicitly reference specific AI lifecycle stages but implicitly covers multiple stages through its focus on sanctioning AI development activities. It addresses Build and Use Model through references to AI development, Deploy through restrictions on operational activities, and Operate and Monitor through ongoing sanctions on surveillance technology operations.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI and machine learning but does not define or distinguish between AI models, AI systems, frontier AI, general purpose AI, or other technical categories. It focuses on sanctioning AI development activities broadly without specifying technical thresholds or model types.