CHINA TOPIX

04/29/2024 06:05:31 am

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Senator John McCain Voices Concerns Over Chinese State-Owned Company's Alleged Takeover of Micron

John McCain, Tsingua Unigroup, Micron Technology

(Photo : Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Sen. John McCain has expressed fears over the security implications of the sale of America's last state-owned chip manufacturer to a Chinese state-owned tech company.

U.S. Senator John McCain has expressed worries over revelations that Chinese tech company Tsingua Unigroup is preparing to make a bid to purchase Micron Technology - America's last major state-owned chip manufacturer.

On Wednesday, the 78-year-old from Arizona explained to Reuters that he is "concerned" about the security implications of such a deal.

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Micron's chips are currently used mainly for data storage on smartphones and other electronic devices. However, chips play an increasingly prominent role in modern weapons.

Sen. McCain explained that if this deal is to become a reality, it would have to go through a "careful and thorough review by Congress, the Department of Defense, and other U.S. government agencies."

Many experts have also expressed similar views as the purchase of Micron would make Tsingua UniGroup one of the foremost tech companies in China and the world. But the hesitation from U.S. authorities to China purchasing one of the country's only remaining major tech manufacturers seems to stem from deeper concerns over the growing power and influence of the former.

Sen. McCain has always kept a wary eye on China. Earlier in the year he advocated for the U.S. to provide weapons to Vietnam as China accelerated land reclamation projects in the South China Sea. During a meeting with the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, in June, McCain explained that Vietnam and the U.S. must deepen their ties to offset China's influence in the region.

These fears about China have not been limited to McCain. The U.S. National Military Strategy 2015, which was released recently, highlights China as one of the sources of threats to America and world peace.  

On Tuesday, General Paul Selva, the nominee for deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed similar sentiments while he was being reviewed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, VICE reported. Selva said it is important to cultivate bilateral ties with China and other nations that could potentially harm the U.S. and her interests in order to diffuse the threat that they posses.

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