Mary Barra says investors will reward G.M. for its electric-vehicle investment.

That’s a wrap. On the second day of our two-day summit, we heard from leaders in business, policy and culture on geopolitical maneuvers, economic tests, environmental challenges and more.

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transcript

Particularly for sensitive areas of technology and investments, for example, coming from China in those areas, there is no separation between private enterprise and the state, and private enterprise in China is absolutely beholden to the state. And if the state wants information, if it wants intellectual property, if it wants anything that one of these enterprises is having access to as a result of its investment or its engagement, the state will get it. So countries have to be very, very aware of that. At the same time, I think that what I’m seeing from, you know, companies around the world, and countries around the world, is to the extent that China is engaged in repressive activities at home, we don’t want to be in the business of providing it the technology to do that right. And I think you’re seeing that increasingly around the world. Similarly, if products are made as a result of forced labor or worse, we shouldn’t be in the business of acquiring that or buying that. So there there are certain guardrails around this that I think the world is establishing, but not for the purpose of decoupling.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said companies and countries should prevent China from accessing their sensitive technologies, especially those that could be used as instruments of repression.

Mr. Blinken, speaking at the DealBook Online Summit, warned executives that the boundary between the Chinese government and Chinese companies is porous.

“There is no separation between private enterprise and the state. Private enterprise in China is beholden to the state,” Mr. Blinken told DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “If the state wants information, if it wants intellectual property, if it wants anything that one of these enterprises is having access to as a result of its investment and engagement, the state will get it.”

Mr. Blinken’s comments come at a time when Beijing has been increasing its control of economic activity at home, including cracking down on Chinese technology companies that have raised money from investors outside China. Mr. Blinken said the appropriate response is not to decouple from China, but for the United States and other governments to ensure that China plays fairly when it comes to international trade.

“It is about, as I said, making sure it is done in a fair way, that we have a level playing field — that there is genuine reciprocity in the way China engages the world commercially, and the way that the rest of us engage China,” Mr. Blinken said.

On Tuesday, Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook, also speaking at the DealBook Online Summit, responded to criticism that he hasn’t done enough to publicly condemn allegations of human rights abuses in China. Mr. Cook defended a low-key approach, saying that Apple speaks up privately on matters of concern. “Being on the sidelines is never a good place, at least for business,” Mr. Cook said. “Engagement is the right approach.”

Mr. Blinken, on Wednesday, said that it is up to companies that do business in China to decide whether they should speak out on human rights issues. “What I’m hearing from company after company, in the United States and around the world, is a clear focus on making sure that they are not providing technology to China or to anyone else that could be used to repress people,” said Mr. Blinken. He added that forced labor is another issue that companies working in China are aware of, and need to be. But when it comes to weighing in on political issues, he said, companies face tough decisions. “I will let businesses decide for themselves how they want to approach these issues,” said Mr. Blinken. “There are, I think, good-faith arguments in various directions.”

As for Taiwan, which Beijing has long maintained should be a Chinese territory, Mr. Blinken reiterated that the U.S. was committed to previous promises to aid in its protection. “We stand strongly against anyone taking unilateral action to disrupt the status quo by force,” said Mr. Blinken.

In addition, he said, if China were to use force against Taiwan, other countries, in addition to the U.S., would see it as a “significant threat” to world peace and their own security. “They, too, would take action in the event that that happens,” Blinken said.

Watch the full interview: