11:36 AM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with the response from Microsoft ( MSFT ) in the fifth paragraph.)

Microsoft's ( MSFT ) $1.5 billion investment in UAE-based artificial intelligence firm G42 could be an avenue for sharing sensitive US-origin technology to China, Republican lawmakers said Thursday in requests to the Biden administration for an intelligence assessment on the partnership.

Representatives Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, asked in a letter to the White House for a US assessment of G42's ties to China's Communist Party, military and government before letting the Microsoft ( MSFT ) deal advance.

"We remain deeply concerned by attempts to move quickly to advance a partnership that involves the unprecedented transfer of highly sensitive, US-origin technology, without Congressional consultation or clearly defined regulations in place," the lawmakers wrote.

They said that G42 and its affiliates have active links with China-linked entities, including those "working to evade US sanctions and export controls."

"We're working closely with the [National Security Council] and Department of Commerce, and US national security will continue to be a principal priority," a Microsoft ( MSFT ) spokesperson said in a statement emailed to MT Newswires on Friday.

G42 did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

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