SEC. 1250J. CHINESE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN COUNTRIES OF THE ARCTIC REGION.
(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:
(1) China is projecting a physical presence in the Arctic through upgrading to advanced icebreakers, utilizing the Arctic Ocean more regularly through subsidizing arctic shipping, deploying unmanned ice stations, and engaging in large and sophisticated data collection efforts in countries of the Arctic region, including Iceland, Greenland, and Canada.
(2) The 2017 Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) report “Unconstrained Foreign Direct Investment: An Emerging Challenge to Arctic Security” concluded that China has been actively engaged in economies of countries of the Arctic region.
(3) The CNA report documented a pattern of strategic investment by China in the economies of countries of the Arctic region, including the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Russia, in areas such as raw land, oil and gas, minerals, and infrastructure.
(4) Chinese investments in countries of the Arctic region are significant. For instance, Chinese foreign direct investment constituted nearly 12 percent of Greenland’s gross domestic product for the period from 2012 to 2017.
(5) China’s 2018 Arctic Policy White Paper documented the Chinese intent to create a “Polar Silk Road” in the Arctic.
(6) China’s “Polar Silk Road” is an extension of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
(7) China is increasingly using the BRI as the impetus for increasing People’s Liberation Army deployments to regions where China has significant investments, primarily through BRI.
(8) China has demonstrated an interest in using BRI to gain military access to strategic regions.
(9) Understanding how China’s foreign direct investment in countries of the Arctic region affects such countries is critical to understanding the degree to which China is able to access the region.
(b) Independent Study.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into a contract with a federally-funded research and development center described in paragraph (2) to complete an independent study of Chinese foreign direct investment in countries of the Arctic region, with a focus on the effects of such foreign direct investment on United States national security and near-peer competition in the Arctic region.
(2) FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER DESCRIBED.—A federally-funded research and development center described in this paragraph is a federally-funded research and development center that—
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