Countering Corporate Corruption in China Act of 2023

Subjects: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:  <p><strong>Countering Corporate Corruption in China Act of 2023 </strong></p> <p>This bill expands the activity prohibited under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) applicable to issuers of securities, domestic concerns, and others. (The FCPA generally prohibits bribes to foreign officials.) </p> <p>For example, the bill includes as prohibited corrupt practices </p> <ul> <li>certain activity supporting human rights abuses by China against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other predominately Muslim ethnic groups; </li> <li>certain activity supporting censorship or human rights abuses by China with respect to individuals in Hong Kong; </li> <li>supporting certain territorial claims by China; </li> <li>political advocacy in favor of the Chinese Communist Party; and</li> <li>investing in specified Chinese entities. </li> </ul>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 151 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 151

    To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to address corrupt 
practices of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 30, 2023

   Mr. Rubio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to address corrupt 
practices of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Corporate Corruption in 
China Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In section 1 of the National Security Study Memorandum 
        issued on June 3, 2021 (relating to establishing the fight 
        against corruption as a core United States national security 
        interest), President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., established 
        countering corruption as a core United States national security 
        interest.
            (2) The practices of the Chinese Communist Party, the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China, and 
        instrumentalities of the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China pose a unique challenge to the enforcement of section 30A 
        of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78dd-1) and 
        sections 104 and 104A of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 
        1977 (15 U.S.C. 78dd-2, 78dd-3) (referred to collectively in 
        this section as the ``corporate anti-corruption laws'').
            (3) The Chinese Communist Party, the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China, and instrumentalities of the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China routinely 
        frustrate the enforcement of the corporate anti-corruption laws 
        by leveraging access to the markets of the People's Republic of 
        China to cause companies that are subject to the corporate 
        anti-corruption laws to improperly provide valuable benefits to 
        those entities in the form of principally nonmonetary actions 
        (referred to collectively in this section as ``corporate 
        actions currying favor with the Chinese Communist Party''), 
        which include--
                    (A) the hiring, promotion, or retention of Chinese 
                Communist Party officials and children of those 
                officials, such as the unlawful practices admitted to 
                by certain entities subject to the corporate anti-
                corruption laws in what are commonly known as the 
                ``princelings'' settlements;
                    (B) political advocacy on behalf of the goals and 
                policies of the Chinese Communist Party in the People's 
                Republic of China, the United States, and the rest of 
                the world, including by--
                            (i) assisting in the denial, obfuscation, 
                        or excusal of--
                                    (I) genocide and other atrocities 
                                committed by the Chinese Communist 
                                Party, the Government of the People's 
                                Republic of China, and 
                                instrumentalities of the Government of 
                                the People's Republic of China;
                                    (II) the extrajudicial detainment, 
                                subjection to forced labor, torture, 
                                and political indoctrination of, and 
                                other severe human rights abuses with 
                                respect to, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 
                                and members of other predominantly 
                                Muslim ethnic groups by the Government 
                                of the People's Republic of China in 
                                the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 
                                of China (or comparable treatment of 
                                members of other ethnic, religious, and 
                                political groups who reside elsewhere 
                                in the People's Republic of China);
                                    (III) censorship or other 
                                activities with respect to Hong Kong 
                                that--
                                            (aa) prohibit, limit, or 
                                        penalize the exercise of 
                                        freedom of expression or 
                                        assembly by the citizens of 
                                        Hong Kong; or
                                            (bb) limit access to free 
                                        and independent print, online, 
                                        or broadcast media; and
                                    (IV) the extrajudicial rendition, 
                                arbitrary detention, or torture of any 
                                individual in Hong Kong or other gross 
                                violations of internationally 
                                recognized human rights in Hong Kong; 
                                and
                            (ii) supporting, legitimizing, or 
                        recognizing the unlawful territorial claims of 
                        the Government of the People's Republic of 
                        China in Taiwan, Tibet, Korea, the South China 
                        Sea, the East China Sea, and other locations in 
                        which such claims are contested; and
                    (C) investments without reasonable business 
                purposes in industries targeted for support by the 
                Chinese Communist Party, the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China, or instrumentalities of the 
                Government of the People's Republic of China, including 
                by entering into a joint venture with such an 
                instrumentality or an entity affiliated with such an 
                instrumentality.
            (4) Corporate actions currying favor with the Chinese 
        Communist Party are valuable to officials of the Chinese 
        Communist Party, the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China, and instrumentalities of the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China, and constitute payments of value for the 
        purposes of subsection (a) of each of the corporate anti-
        corruption laws, because those actions are--
                    (A) directly or indirectly financially valuable to 
                those officials due to--
                            (i) the extent of corruption in the 
                        People's Republic of China;
                            (ii) the reliance of the economy of the 
                        People's Republic of China on state-owned 
                        enterprises; and
                            (iii) the integration of the party-state 
                        with business enterprises in the People's 
                        Republic of China; and
                    (B) valuable to the interests of the Chinese 
                Communist Party, and officials of that Party, in a 
                manner that is distinct from any independent economic 
                or public interest rationale for those actions.
            (5) Corporate actions currying favor with the Chinese 
        Communist Party are taken corruptly for the purposes of each of 
        the corporate anti-corruption laws because those actions--
                    (A) have no reasonable business purpose unrelated 
                to obtaining or retaining business within the People's 
                Republic of China and instead relate to--
                            (i) accessing markets within the 
                        jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China; 
                        or
                            (ii) avoiding injury threatened by the 
                        Chinese Communist Party, the Government of the 
                        People's Republic of China, or 
                        instrumentalities of the Government of the 
                        People's Republic of China; and
                    (B) are morally wrongful to the extent that those 
                actions contribute to denying, obfuscating, or 
                excusing--
                            (i) genocide and other atrocities; and
                            (ii) the extrajudicial detainment, 
                        subjection to forced labor, torture, and 
                        political indoctrination of, and other severe 
                        human rights abuses with respect to, 
                        individuals by the Chinese Communist Party, the 
                        Government of the People's Republic of China, 
                        or instrumentalities of the Government of the 
                        People's Republic of China.
            (6) Despite the public and prominent undertaking of 
        corporate actions currying favor with the Chinese Communist 
        Party by individuals and entities that are subject to the 
        corporate anti-corruption laws, the Federal Government has 
        undertaken little enforcement with respect to those corporate 
        actions due to an apparent difficulty in demonstrating that the 
        actions are corrupt, or of value to a foreign official, because 
        of the principally nonmonetary nature of those actions.
            (7) In addition to undermining the public interest in the 
        enforcement of the corporate anti-corruption laws in the manner 
        described in paragraphs (2) through (6), corporate actions 
        currying favor with the Chinese Communist Party undermine the 
        public interest in the enforcement of the laws of the United 
        States, including--
                    (A) sections 4 and 5 of the Act entitled ``An Act 
                to ensure that goods made with forced labor in the 
                Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of 
                China do not enter the United States market, and for 
                other purposes'', approved December 23, 2021 (Public 
                Law 117-78; 135 Stat. 1525) (referred to in this 
                section as the ``Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act'') 
                (including the amendment made by section 5 of that 
                Act), by--
                            (i) reducing the awareness of entities 
                        subject to, or potentially subject to, that Act 
                        regarding the application of that Act to 
                        activities in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of 
                        the People's Republic of China or elsewhere in 
                        the People's Republic of China;
                            (ii) aiding and abetting violations of that 
                        Act; and
                            (iii) reducing the information available to 
                        law enforcement officials in the United States 
                        regarding the activities described in clause 
                        (i); and
                    (B) United States sanctions laws with respect to 
                persons and entities in the People's Republic of China 
                (collectively referred to in this section as the 
                ``sanctions laws of the United States'')--
                            (i) including--
                                    (I) section 1237 of the Strom 
                                Thurmond National Defense Authorization 
                                Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (Public Law 
                                105-261; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note);
                                    (II) sections 4 and 5 of the Uyghur 
                                Forced Labor Prevention Act (including 
                                the amendment made by section 5 of that 
                                Act);
                                    (III) the Global Magnitsky Human 
                                Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F 
                                of title XII of Public Law 114-328; 22 
                                U.S.C. 2656 note);
                                    (IV) Executive Order 13818 (50 
                                U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking 
                                the property of persons involved in 
                                serious human rights abuse or 
                                corruption), as amended on or after the 
                                date of enactment of this Act;
                                    (V) Executive Order 13959 (50 
                                U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 
                                addressing the threat from securities 
                                investments that finance Communist 
                                Chinese military companies), as amended 
                                before, on, or after the date of 
                                enactment of this Act and as superseded 
                                in part before, on, or after the date 
                                of enactment of this Act; and
                                    (VI) Executive Order 14032 (50 
                                U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 
                                addressing the threat from securities 
                                investments that finance certain 
                                companies of the People's Republic of 
                                China), as amended before, on, or after 
                                the date of enactment of this Act; and
                            (ii) by facilitating investment in, or 
                        transactions with, entities in which investment 
                        is, or with which transactions are, prohibited 
                        under the sanctions laws of the United States 
                        by--
                                    (I) providing principally 
                                nonmonetary benefits of value to those 
                                entities, which, in turn, become 
                                financially valuable to those entities 
                                in a manner that is directly traceable 
                                to those benefits, such as with respect 
                                to raising capital from international 
                                capital markets;
                                    (II) investing in, or transacting 
                                with, entities not subject to the 
                                sanctions laws of the United States 
                                under circumstances that suggest that 
                                those entities will, in turn, invest in 
                                or transact with other entities that 
                                are subject to the sanctions laws of 
                                the United States; and
                                    (III) reducing the information 
                                available to law enforcement officials 
                                in the United States for the purpose of 
                                enforcing the sanctions laws of the 
                                United States.
            (8) The requirements of this Act, and the amendments made 
        by this Act, are justified by--
                    (A) the public interest in mitigating the threats 
                to the enforcement of the corporate anti-corruption 
                laws, and the sanctions laws of the United States, that 
                are posed by the Chinese Communist Party, the 
                Government of the People's Republic of China, and 
                instrumentalities of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China;
                    (B) the foreign policy interests achieved by this 
                Act and the amendments made by this Act; and
                    (C) the fact that those requirements--
                            (i) are confined to the specific conduct of 
                        entities and persons subject to the corporate 
                        anti-corruption laws based on observable 
                        patterns of behavior demonstrated by those 
                        entities and persons; and
                            (ii) do not subject any entity or person 
                        described in clause (i) to any criminal 
                        penalty.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS REGARDING PROHIBITED FOREIGN TRADE PRACTICES.

    (a) Issuers.--
            (1) In general.--Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act 
        of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78dd-1) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 
                following:
            ``(4) The term `covered investment'--
                    ``(A) means any direct or indirect contribution or 
                commitment of assets, including any--
                            ``(i) acquisition of an equity interest or 
                        convertible equity interest; or
                            ``(ii) loan or other debt interest; and
                    ``(B) does not include a transaction in goods or 
                services, or any related party transaction, with a 
                wholly owned subsidiary of an entity--
                            ``(i) that is incorporated in a 
                        jurisdiction of the United States; or
                            ``(ii) the principal place of business of 
                        which is in the United States.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Application.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) an action that is taken corruptly includes an action 
        that serves to--
                    ``(A) deny, obfuscate, or excuse that a third party 
                has committed, or assist a third party in committing--
                            ``(i) the extrajudicial detainment, 
                        subjection to forced labor, torture, and 
                        political indoctrination of, and other severe 
                        human rights abuses with respect to, Uyghurs, 
                        Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other 
                        predominantly Muslim ethnic groups by the 
                        Government of the People's Republic of China in 
                        the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China 
                        (or comparable treatment of members of other 
                        ethnic, religious, and political groups who 
                        reside elsewhere in the People's Republic of 
                        China);
                            ``(ii) censorship, or another activity, by 
                        the Chinese Communist Party, the Government of 
                        the People's Republic of China, or 
                        instrumentalities of the Government of the 
                        People's Republic of China with respect to Hong 
                        Kong that--
                                    ``(I) prohibits, limits, or 
                                penalizes the exercise of freedom of 
                                expression or assembly by citizens of 
                                Hong Kong; or
                                    ``(II) limits access to free and 
                                independent print, online, or broadcast 
                                media; or
                            ``(iii) the extrajudicial rendition, 
                        arbitrary detention, or torture of any 
                        individual in Hong Kong or other gross 
                        violations of internationally recognized human 
                        rights in Hong Kong;
                    ``(B) support, legitimize, or recognize the 
                territorial claims of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China in Taiwan, Tibet, Korea, the South 
                China Sea, the East China Sea, or another location in 
                which such a claim is contested;
                    ``(C) express political advocacy in favor of the 
                Chinese Communist Party, the system of governance of 
                that Party, or any official of that Party; or
                    ``(D) make a covered investment--
                            ``(i) in partnership with the Belt and Road 
                        Initiative of the Government of the People's 
                        Republic of China; or
                            ``(ii) in any entity (including a parent, 
                        subsidiary, or affiliate of, or another entity 
                        controlled by an entity) that is--
                                    ``(I)(aa) affiliated with the 
                                Chinese Communist Party, the Government 
                                of the People's Republic of China, or 
                                instrumentalities of the Government of 
                                the People's Republic of China; and
                                    ``(bb) involved in the development, 
                                production, or sale of emerging or 
                                foundational technology identified 
                                pursuant to section 1758 of the Export 
                                Controls Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4817); 
                                or
                                    ``(II) on the Entity List 
                                maintained by the Bureau of Industry 
                                and Security of the Department of 
                                Commerce and set forth in Supplement 
                                No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of 
                                Federal Regulations; and
            ``(2) an action described in paragraph (1) is made with 
        respect to a foreign official, or any foreign political party 
        or official thereof, if, among other reasons, the action is 
        taken in response to--
                    ``(A) a request of any foreign official, or any 
                foreign political party or official thereof, as 
                applicable;
                    ``(B) an injury or threat of injury, by means of 
                economic coercion, to the applicable issuer, or to an 
                officer, director, employee, or agent of the applicable 
                issuer, made by any foreign official or any foreign 
                political party or official thereof; or
                    ``(C) a material action or announcement, including 
                with respect to policy, by the Chinese Communist Party, 
                the Government of the People's Republic of China, or 
                instrumentalities of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China from which the action would 
                rationally follow.
    ``(i) Special Rules.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
section, with respect to a violation of subsection (a) or (g) that is 
based on an action taken corruptly as described in any of subparagraphs 
(A) through (D) of subsection (h)(1)--
            ``(1) the affirmative defenses under subsection (c) shall 
        not be available;
            ``(2) it shall be an affirmative defense to actions under 
        subsection (a) or (g) that the payment, gift, offer, or promise 
        of anything of value that was made, as of the date on which it 
        was made, had a reasonable business purpose, which does not 
        include a purpose relating to--
                    ``(A) advertising, marketing, or public relations; 
                or
                    ``(B) entering into or obtaining any agreement, 
                license, permit, or other arrangement with respect to 
                market access to a jurisdiction of a government;
            ``(3) notwithstanding section 32--
                    ``(A) only a penalty described in subsection 
                (c)(1)(B) or (c)(2)(B) of that section may apply with 
                respect to the violation; and
                    ``(B) the minimum amount of the civil penalty 
                assessed for the violation shall be 3 times the amount 
                of the penalty described in subsection (c)(1)(B) or 
                (c)(2)(B) of that section, as applicable; and
            ``(4) in an action brought with respect to the violation, 
        evidence that the action taken by the applicable issuer (or the 
        officer, director, employee, or agent of the issuer, or 
        stockholder acting on behalf of such issuer) was directly or 
        indirectly inconsistent with the policies of the issuer, 
        including any representation to the Federal Government by the 
        issuer, shall be admissible to prove that the action taken by 
        the issuer (or officer, director, employee, agent, or 
        stockholder) was taken corruptly for the purposes of subsection 
        (a) or (g), as applicable.''.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subsection (h) of 
        section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
        78dd-1), as added by paragraph (1) of this subsection, may be 
        construed to expand the meaning of the term ``corruptly'', ``to 
        any foreign official'', or ``to any foreign political party or 
        official thereof'' for the purposes of such section 30A, except 
        for the clarification that the term includes an action that is 
        taken as described in paragraph (1) or (2) of such subsection 
        (h), as applicable.
    (b) Domestic Concerns.--
            (1) In general.--Section 104 of the Foreign Corrupt 
        Practices Act of 1977 (15 U.S.C. 78dd-2) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the 
                following:
            ``(6) The term `covered investment'--
                    ``(A) means any direct or indirect contribution or 
                commitment of assets, including any--
                            ``(i) acquisition of an equity interest or 
                        convertible equity interest; or
                            ``(ii) loan or other debt interest; and
                    ``(B) does not include a transaction in goods or 
                services, or any related party transaction, with a 
                wholly owned subsidiary of an entity--
                            ``(i) that is incorporated in a 
                        jurisdiction of the United States; or
                            ``(ii) the principal place of business of 
                        which is in the United States.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Application.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) an action that is taken corruptly includes an action 
        that serves to--
                    ``(A) deny, obfuscate, or excuse that a third party 
                has committed, or assist a third party in committing--
                            ``(i) the extrajudicial detainment, 
                        subjection to forced labor, torture, and 
                        political indoctrination of, and other severe 
                        human rights abuses with respect to, Uyghurs, 
                        Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other 
                        predominantly Muslim ethnic groups by the 
                        Government of the People's Republic of China in 
                        the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China 
                        (or comparable treatment of members of other 
                        ethnic, religious, and political groups who 
                        reside elsewhere in the People's Republic of 
                        China);
                            ``(ii) censorship, or another activity, by 
                        the Chinese Communist Party, the Government of 
                        the People's Republic of China, or 
                        instrumentalities of the Government of the 
                        People's Republic of China with respect to Hong 
                        Kong that--
                                    ``(I) prohibits, limits, or 
                                penalizes the exercise of freedom of 
                                expression or assembly by citizens of 
                                Hong Kong; or
                                    ``(II) limits access to free and 
                                independent print, online, or broadcast 
                                media; or
                            ``(iii) the extrajudicial rendition, 
                        arbitrary detention, or torture of any 
                        individual in Hong Kong or other gross 
                        violations of internationally recognized human 
                        rights in Hong Kong;
                    ``(B) support, legitimize, or recognize the 
                territorial claims of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China in Taiwan, Tibet, Korea, the South 
                China Sea, the East China Sea, or another location in 
                which such a claim is contested;
                    ``(C) express political advocacy in favor of the 
                Chinese Communist Party, the system of governance of 
                that Party, or any official of that Party; or
                    ``(D) make a covered investment--
                            ``(i) in partnership with the Belt and Road 
                        Initiative of the Government of the People's 
                        Republic of China; or
                            ``(ii) in any entity (including a parent, 
                        subsidiary, or affiliate of, or another entity 
                        controlled by an entity) that is--
                                    ``(I)(aa) affiliated with the 
                                Chinese Communist Party, the Government 
                                of the People's Republic of China, or 
                                instrumentalities of the Government of 
                                the People's Republic of China; and
                                    ``(bb) involved in the development, 
                                production, or sale of emerging or 
                                foundational technology identified 
                                pursuant to section 1758 of the Export 
                                Controls Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4817); 
                                or
                                    ``(II) on the Entity List 
                                maintained by the Bureau of Industry 
                                and Security of the Department of 
                                Commerce and set forth in Supplement 
                                No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of 
                                Federal Regulations; and
            ``(2) an action described in paragraph (1) is made with 
        respect to a foreign official, or any foreign political party 
        or official thereof, if, among other reasons, the action is 
        taken in response to--
                    ``(A) a request of any foreign official, or any 
                foreign political party or official thereof, as 
                applicable;
                    ``(B) an injury or threat of injury, by means of 
                economic coercion, to the applicable domestic concern, 
                or to an officer, director, employee, or agent of the 
                applicable domestic concern, made by any foreign 
                official or any foreign political party or official 
                thereof; or
                    ``(C) a material action or announcement, including 
                with respect to policy, by the Chinese Communist Party, 
                the Government of the People's Republic of China, or 
                instrumentalities of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China from which the action would 
                rationally follow.
    ``(k) Special Rules.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
section, with respect to a violation of subsection (a) or (i) that is 
based on an action taken corruptly as described in any of subparagraphs 
(A) through (D) of subsection (j)(1)--
            ``(1) the affirmative defenses under subsection (c) shall 
        not be available;
            ``(2) it shall be an affirmative defense to actions under 
        subsection (a) or (i) that the payment, gift, offer, or promise 
        of anything of value that was made, as of the date on which it 
        was made, had a reasonable business purpose, which does not 
        include a purpose relating to--
                    ``(A) advertising, marketing, or public relations; 
                or
                    ``(B) entering into or obtaining any agreement, 
                license, permit, or other arrangement with respect to 
                market access to a jurisdiction of a government;
            ``(3) notwithstanding any provision of subsection (g)--
                    ``(A) only a penalty described in paragraph (1)(B) 
                or (2)(B) of that subsection may apply with respect to 
                the violation; and
                    ``(B) the minimum amount of the civil penalty 
                assessed for the violation shall be 3 times the amount 
                of the penalty described in paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(B) 
                of that subsection, as applicable; and
            ``(4) in an action brought with respect to the violation, 
        evidence that the action taken by the applicable domestic 
        concern (or the officer, director, employee, or agent of the 
        domestic concern, or stockholder acting on behalf of such 
        domestic concern) was directly or indirectly inconsistent with 
        the policies of the domestic concern, including any 
        representation to the Federal Government by the domestic 
        concern, shall be admissible to prove that the action taken by 
        the domestic concern (or officer, director, employee, agent, or 
        stockholder) was taken corruptly for the purposes of subsection 
        (a) or (i), as applicable.''.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subsection (j) of 
        section 104 of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (15 
        U.S.C. 78dd-2), as added by paragraph (1) of this subsection, 
        may be construed to expand the meaning of the term 
        ``corruptly'', ``to any foreign official'', or ``to any foreign 
        political party or official thereof'' for the purposes of such 
        section 104, except for the clarification that the term 
        includes an action that is taken as described in paragraph (1) 
        or (2) of such subsection (j), as applicable.
    (c) Persons Other Than Issuers or Domestic Concerns.--
            (1) In general.--Section 104A of the Foreign Corrupt 
        Practices Act of 1977 (15 U.S.C. 78dd-3) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 
                following:
            ``(6) The term `covered investment'--
                    ``(A) means any direct or indirect contribution or 
                commitment of assets, including any--
                            ``(i) acquisition of an equity interest or 
                        convertible equity interest; or
                            ``(ii) loan or other debt interest; and
                    ``(B) does not include a transaction in goods or 
                services, or any related party transaction, with a 
                wholly owned subsidiary of an entity--
                            ``(i) that is incorporated in a 
                        jurisdiction of the United States; or
                            ``(ii) the principal place of business of 
                        which is in the United States.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Application.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) an action that is taken corruptly includes an action 
        that serves to--
                    ``(A) deny, obfuscate, or excuse that a third party 
                has committed, or assist a third party in committing--
                            ``(i) the extrajudicial detainment, 
                        subjection to forced labor, torture, and 
                        political indoctrination of, and other severe 
                        human rights abuses with respect to, Uyghurs, 
                        Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other 
                        predominantly Muslim ethnic groups by the 
                        Government of the People's Republic of China in 
                        the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China 
                        (or comparable treatment of members of other 
                        ethnic, religious, and political groups who 
                        reside elsewhere in the People's Republic of 
                        China);
                            ``(ii) censorship, or another activity, by 
                        the Chinese Communist Party, the Government of 
                        the People's Republic of China, or 
                        instrumentalities of the Government of the 
                        People's Republic of China with respect to Hong 
                        Kong that--
                                    ``(I) prohibits, limits, or 
                                penalizes the exercise of freedom of 
                                expression or assembly by citizens of 
                                Hong Kong; or
                                    ``(II) limits access to free and 
                                independent print, online, or broadcast 
                                media; or
                            ``(iii) the extrajudicial rendition, 
                        arbitrary detention, or torture of any 
                        individual in Hong Kong or other gross 
                        violations of internationally recognized human 
                        rights in Hong Kong;
                    ``(B) support, legitimize, or recognize the 
                territorial claims of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China in Taiwan, Tibet, Korea, the South 
                China Sea, the East China Sea, or another location in 
                which such a claim is contested;
                    ``(C) express political advocacy in favor of the 
                Chinese Communist Party, the system of governance of 
                that Party, or any official of that Party; or
                    ``(D) make a covered investment--
                            ``(i) in partnership with the Belt and Road 
                        Initiative of the Government of the People's 
                        Republic of China; or
                            ``(ii) in any entity (including a parent, 
                        subsidiary, or affiliate of, or another entity 
                        controlled by an entity) that is--
                                    ``(I)(aa) affiliated with the 
                                Chinese Communist Party, the Government 
                                of the People's Republic of China, or 
                                instrumentalities of the Government of 
                                the People's Republic of China; and
                                    ``(bb) involved in the development, 
                                production, or sale of emerging or 
                                foundational technology identified 
                                pursuant to section 1758 of the Export 
                                Controls Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4817); 
                                or
                                    ``(II) on the Entity List 
                                maintained by the Bureau of Industry 
                                and Security of the Department of 
                                Commerce and set forth in Supplement 
                                No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of 
                                Federal Regulations; and
            ``(2) an action described in paragraph (1) is made with 
        respect to a foreign official, or any foreign political party 
        or official thereof, if, among other reasons, the action is 
        taken in response to--
                    ``(A) a request of any foreign official, or any 
                foreign political party or official thereof, as 
                applicable;
                    ``(B) an injury or threat of injury, by means of 
                economic coercion, to the applicable person, or to an 
                officer, director, employee, or agent of the applicable 
                person, made by any foreign official or any foreign 
                political party or official thereof; or
                    ``(C) a material action or announcement, including 
                with respect to policy, by the Chinese Communist Party, 
                the Government of the People's Republic of China, or 
                instrumentalities of the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China from which the action would 
                rationally follow.
    ``(h) Special Rules.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
section, with respect to a violation of subsection (a) that is based on 
an action taken corruptly as described in any of subparagraphs (A) 
through (D) of subsection (g)(1)--
            ``(1) the affirmative defenses under subsection (c) shall 
        not be available;
            ``(2) it shall be an affirmative defense to actions under 
        subsection (a) that the payment, gift, offer, or promise of 
        anything of value that was made, as of the date on which it was 
        made, had a reasonable business purpose, which does not include 
        a purpose relating to--
                    ``(A) advertising, marketing, or public relations; 
                or
                    ``(B) entering into or obtaining any agreement, 
                license, permit, or other arrangement with respect to 
                market access to a jurisdiction of a government;
            ``(3) notwithstanding any provision of subsection (e)--
                    ``(A) only a penalty described in paragraph (1)(B) 
                or (2)(B) of that subsection may apply with respect to 
                the violation; and
                    ``(B) the minimum amount of the civil penalty 
                assessed for the violation shall be 3 times the amount 
                of the penalty described in paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(B) 
                of that subsection, as applicable; and
            ``(4) in an action brought with respect to the violation, 
        evidence that the action taken by the applicable person was 
        directly or indirectly inconsistent with the policies of the 
        person, including any representation to the Federal Government 
        by the person, shall be admissible to prove that the action 
        taken by the person was taken corruptly for the purposes of 
        subsection (a).''.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subsection (g) of 
        section 104A of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (15 
        U.S.C. 78dd-3), as added by paragraph (1) of this subsection, 
        may be construed to expand the meaning of the term 
        ``corruptly'', ``to any foreign official'', or ``to any foreign 
        political party or official thereof'' for the purposes of such 
        section 104A, except for the clarification that the term 
        includes an action that is taken as described in paragraph (1) 
        or (2) of such subsection (g), as applicable.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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