Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., is publicly backing a Trump administration proposal to tighten restrictions on American investments that could help build up China’s military-industrial base, arguing in a new opinion piece that U.S. capital and technology have for too long flowed into Chinese companies developing weapons-related capabilities.
Mast, an Army veteran who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the administration “deserve a huge amount of credit” for advancing the proposed rules, which he says build on the COINS Act by closing loopholes involving financial and professional services that have allowed Chinese firms to advance militarily relevant technology.
“We are closing loopholes, addressing the ways financial and professional services can help Chinese companies advance and ensuring that restrictions keep pace with the technologies Beijing is trying to acquire,” Mast wrote.
In the piece, Mast argued that China is a strategic adversary seeking advanced weapons, targeting systems, cyber capabilities and other military-relevant technology, and said American investment and research should not be allowed to give Beijing an edge. He wrote that service members should never have to face “a more powerful Chinese military because American dollars helped build it.”
“Our troops should never have to face a more powerful Chinese military because American dollars helped build it,” Mast wrote.
Mast also pointed to legislative efforts underway in the House Foreign Affairs Committee aimed at codifying President Trump’s AI Action Plan, including the AI OVERWATCH Act, the MATCH Act and the Remote Access Security Act. He said those bills are designed to strengthen oversight of advanced AI chip exports, close gaps in semiconductor equipment controls, and prevent China from circumventing U.S. safeguards through remote access to sensitive technology.
Mast framed the stakes in terms of future military and economic competition, writing that artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors and quantum computing “will determine economic strength and military power for generations to come,” and that the United States cannot win that competition while “handing our advantages to the Chinese Communist Party.”
He closed by praising Trump for “taking action to protect America’s technological edge” against efforts by Beijing to exploit American success for its own military gain.
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