Bipartisan Lawmakers Seek to Bar a Chinese AI Data Center Component From Sensitive US Government Systems: ‘We Shouldn’t Rely on China’

Bipartisan lawmakers, including Sens. John Cornyn and Dave McCormick, have introduced legislation to prevent the federal government from using optical transceivers made by Chinese companies Eoptolink and Zhongji Innolight in sensitive systems, citing national security concerns. The proposed restrictions would allow the Commerce and Defense secretaries to add more companies to the list, with a compliance deadline of five years. The technology industry has expressed concerns that such restrictions could disrupt U.S. data center expansion and hinder American competitiveness in AI, as domestic suppliers like Coherent Corp. and Lumentum Holdings currently lack the scale to fully replace Chinese suppliers.