Senate Democrats are using Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s high-profile state visit to Washington this week to press Republicans for votes on export control legislation restricting Beijing’s access to advanced chips used in artificial intelligence technology.
The bills in question have bipartisan support, and Republicans agreed to include them in a giant manager’s amendment to the must-pass annual defense authorization bill. But with that broader bill stuck until after the elections, Democrats sought to highlight the issue as a means of putting pressure on President Donald Trump in his dealings with Xi.
