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Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) (C), chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, joins Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) (L) and the Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) for a news conference following a GOP caucus meeting at the offices of the Republican National Committee on Capitol Hill February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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A group of lawmakers will travel to California to meet with tech and media executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and disney CEO Bob Iger, to discuss China-related topics, CNBC confirmed.
Nearly a dozen lawmakers representing both parties on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are expected to make the three-day trip, led by Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a spokesman for the committee. told CNBC. Bloomberg And Axios previously reported trip details.
The trip highlights how the committee’s work could affect the technology and media industries, which are interested in both the large consumer market and the workforce in China. Just last week, Cook, whose company depends on Chinese labor for phone production, met with the country’s trade minister over supply chain issues.
Gallagher has previously said he wants Iger and Big Tech executives to testify before the panel.
The committee sees the trip as an opportunity both to learn from industry leaders on the ground and to share their concerns and vision for business relations with China, according to a source close to the committee who was not not authorized to speak officially to discuss the plans. The committee wants to pressure companies to diversify their supply chains enough so that they are not too dependent on Beijing and to ensure that forced labor is not employed.
The trip will begin Wednesday around Hollywood, where lawmakers will meet Iger and then dine with producers, screenwriters and former studio executives. The source described the dinner attendees as a group who have worked at high levels with the Chinese market and want to share what they have seen in those roles.
On Thursday and Friday, the group will hold meetings in Silicon Valley, including a panel discussion that will include Microsoft on rare earth minerals, conversations on artificial intelligence and China’s strategy around emerging technologies. A luncheon will feature executives from GoogleMicrosoft, Scale AI, and Palantir to discuss what the source described as “defensive and offensive approaches to strategic competition.”
A dinner in Silicon Valley will bring together heads of a dozen venture capital firms, including Andreesen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and SV Angel, the source said.
Besides Cook and Iger, the band members are expected to meet Microsoft President Brad Smith and Kent Walker, AlphabetPresident of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of .
The full list of select committee members who will attend is not yet clear, but a House aide confirmed to CNBC that Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat who represents Silicon Valley, will be among them.
Companies named in this report did not immediately respond or provide comment.
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