{"text":[[{"start":13.25,"text":"Mercedes-Benz faces a possible ban on selling cars in the US after a Senate committee passed a bill that penalises groups with Chinese investment, in another sign of mounting rivalry between the US and China."}],[{"start":26.4,"text":"Mercedes, a German automaker that is 20 per cent owned by Chinese companies, had lobbied the Senate commerce committee to dilute the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which would also ban the import of battery systems from China’s CATL, the world’s biggest battery maker."}],[{"start":43.5,"text":"The bill bars automakers from selling connected vehicles — which use hardware and software for communications — in the US if they are more than 15 per cent owned by Chinese groups. It still requires approval by the full Senate before being reconciled with any version passed by the House of Representatives."}],[{"start":62.3,"text":"It comes amid mounting concern in Detroit that the entry of Chinese electric vehicles could decimate the US car industry. But it is also the latest sign of how Washington is cracking down on Chinese technology on security grounds. "}],[{"start":75.75,"text":"Introduced by Republican Bernie Moreno of Ohio — a former Mercedes car dealer — and Democrat Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the bill says giving adversaries access, control or influence over communication systems in connected vehicles creates risks that include “surveillance, espionage, cyber intrusion and disruption of critical infrastructure”."}],[{"start":97.55,"text":"At a meeting to debate the legislation, Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who chairs the committee, criticised the decision, saying General Motors had lobbied for the measure in an effort to push Mercedes out of the US. His comment came after the panel rejected two amendments that would have eased the restrictions. "}],[{"start":118.1,"text":"In lobbying for the bill to be watered down, Mercedes had highlighted its big footprint in the US, where it supports 160,000 jobs across factories, suppliers and dealers. It said it backed rules “designed to protect US national security” but “remains committed to ensuring that any legislation does not impact our operations”."}],[{"start":141.25,"text":"Entities linked to Chinese carmakers Geely and BAIC combined own roughly a fifth of shares in Mercedes. The German company said “no shareholder holds more than 10 per cent of our stock, and our major shareholders are not directly represented on the supervisory board or have any control or decision-making authority”."}],[{"start":162.05,"text":"John Moolenaar, a Michigan lawmaker who heads the House China committee, and Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, welcomed the committee’s decision. The legislators, who have introduced a companion bill in the House, thanked the senators for “rejecting weak amendments” and passing “a strong bill that keeps China out of our market”."}],[{"start":181.4,"text":"Rush Doshi, a China expert at Georgetown University and former White House official, said Mercedes had raised the ire of the left and right, unions and venture capitalists. “This is usually a hard thing to do.”"}],[{"start":195.6,"text":"Ahead of the vote, Chris McGuire, another former White House official, of the Council on Foreign Relations, said he was very concerned about efforts to weaken the language on battery-management systems, which he said posed a big security threat."}],[{"start":210,"text":"“The electronics inside modern batteries decide when it charges, how hot it gets and whether the safety limits hold. If a foreign adversary controls those electronics, it could use that access to push the battery past its limits until it catches fire, effectively turning car batteries into car bombs,” he said."}],[{"start":228.9,"text":"Craig Singleton, a US-China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the 22-9 vote to reject an amendment weakening the provision on batteries “underscored a broad bipartisan consensus that adversary-linked batteries and battery-management systems do not belong in America’s connected vehicle supply chain”. "}],[{"start":248.65,"text":"“These systems are becoming smarter, more connected and more deeply integrated into vehicle operations, creating potential pathways for surveillance, cyber intrusion and disruption of critical transportation networks,” said Singleton. "}],[{"start":262.6,"text":"CATL said vehicle manufacturers, rather than the group, maintained access to and control over all battery-management system data flows. “They inherently do not have the capability to transmit data externally, nor do they contain independent channels to access vehicle or user information.”"}],[{"start":289.25,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784802272_7986.mp3"}