Andy Kim Presses Trump Commerce Nom On US' Telecommunications Competition 'Vis-à-Vis China'

3/31/2025

During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) spoke about the United States' competition with China in the telecommunications industry.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Ms. Roth, for coming before us. I actually just wanted to

00:04build off of something that the chairman said in his opening remarks. He talked about

00:08making sure that America, not China, is setting the tech standards around the world,

00:13especially on the telecom space. And I guess I just want to start with a big picture question,

00:17just like how would you characterize U.S. competitiveness right now in the telecom

00:22space vis-a-vis China? I just want to get your understanding of where that stands right now.

00:27Thank you, Senator. I think we're in a global technology race against China. We need to

00:37ensure that we don't fall behind, because if we do, that'll lead to more situations to address,

00:46like rip and replace, salt typhoon. We desperately need to ensure that we

00:53win the global technology race. And part of that is ensuring that we have the best and fastest

00:59broadband networks in the world from which we can build innovation and remain the global

01:06technology leaders. One of the biggest challenges that we faced and saw in recent years was just

01:12China's aggressiveness when it came to 5G, in terms of the deployment of Huawei around the world.

01:18What do you think are the lessons that we should have been taking away from that? And how would

01:22you in this job try to make sure that we're pushing forward and thinking about how to

01:26strengthen American innovation at a time of such competitiveness? Thank you, Senator. I think there's

01:35a lot of ways we can do that, ensuring that our spectrum policy is as efficient as possible

01:42so that we can have the best wireless innovation in the world. And it's also ensuring that all

01:50our all Americans have access to digital opportunity and delivering on the requirements

01:58of the BEAD program is one way to do that. One of the things that we were able to move forward on

02:05is this $1.5 billion public wireless supply chain innovation fund that is at NTIA. I just

02:13wanted to ask, I'm not sure if you've really thought this through in terms of what your

02:17vision would be in terms of that particular fund. It's something that I've been very interested in

02:22terms of, you know, how we can use this to potentially scale up, you know, trusted telecommunications

02:26supplies, you know, and not just in the United States, but abroad. But just wanted to see if

02:30you've given that some thought so far. Thank you, Senator. Yeah, supply chain security is

02:37very important in winning the global technology race. And I'm very familiar with that program.

02:44And the goals of that program and combating Huawei and ensuring that our networks are

02:53safe. And I look forward to abiding by the law.

03:00That program was signed into law. And I look for, if I'm confirmed, look forward to

03:07working on it with you in your office. Look, one thing to keep an eye out, if you're confirmed

03:12here, there's been talk about what is the future of the Chips and Science Act. And this

03:16particular fund was one that came through that legislation. So, you know, I do have concerns in

03:21terms of about what the future is of that type of innovative spur that we were trying to unleash.

03:28So that's something I just wanted to flag for you. And just in general, you know, just thinking

03:33about how we can increase our competitiveness, our innovation, but also better protecting

03:38ourselves to try to prevent foreign adversaries from being able to exploit our U.S. telecommunications

03:44networks as well as the supply chains, as you mentioned. So, you know, that's something that

03:47I'm hoping we're able to work together on. Last thing I just wanted to flag, just switching

03:52gears, I'm a father of a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old. I see your beautiful family here

03:58as well. You know, the chairman mentioned in his opening remarks that you've been instrumental in

04:01thinking about protecting privacy for kids with the work on this committee. I guess I wanted to

04:07just ask for your thoughts here. Just can you speak to how you'll try to advance that sense of

04:12privacy for our children with the work you do as assistant secretary? Thank you, Senator. I agree.

04:19Privacy is incredibly important. NTIA doesn't have a regulatory role on privacy. NTIA is an advisor

04:26to the president on it. And what do you think the president should focus in on when it comes to

04:31privacy for kids? Senator, you know, I'm not at the agency yet and I'd like to, you know, have a

04:38chance to figure out what the agency is working on, speak to the distinguished career staff. But

04:44it's certainly an issue that I would want to work on and I would look forward to working with

04:48your office. Yeah, look, as I said, you know, if confirmed, you know, I hope this is something that

04:53we can really lift up. I think, you know, a lot of parents are just besides themselves right now

04:58and just would like to see some strong action. And I think, you know, having a young mom,

05:05you know, taking the charge on this, I think that would be a really strong signal to this country.

05:08Thanks a lot. And with that, I yield back. Thank you, Senator Blunt Rochester. Thank you.

Andy Kim Presses Trump Commerce Nom On US' Telecommunications Competition 'Vis-à-Vis China'

Category

Transcript

Recommended