* Senator Moreno seeks broader ban covering Chinese auto

hardware, software, and partnerships

* U.S. carmakers and trade groups support ban, urge

allies to adopt similar measures

* Trump previously expressed openness to Chinese

automakers building plants in the U.S

By Kalea Hall and David Shepardson

NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Republican Senator Bernie

Moreno said on Tuesday he will introduce legislation next month

to toughen a U.S. government ban on Chinese automakers from

entering the American market, and encouraged other countries to

follow suit.

The Biden administration imposed a sweeping regulation that

effectively bans all Chinese automakers from selling passenger

vehicles in the United States in January 2025, citing national

security concerns about the ability of vehicles to collect

sensitive data on American owners.

The ban has the strong backing of U.S. carmakers and other

auto groups. Earlier this month, major auto trade groups urged

the U.S. government to keep ​Chinese carmakers out of the

country, according to a letter seen by Reuters, ahead of

President Donald Trump's planned summit with Chinese President

Xi Jinping in May.

Senator Moreno said his proposed legislation would go

further than the ban on imports, and would seal off the U.S. so

"there's never a scenario where a Chinese automobile will enter

our market, that's hardware, that's software, that's

partnerships."

"There will not be a Chinese automobile here. And what I'm

hoping is that Latin America, Mexico, Canada and Europe, adopt

our same standards now," he said at an Automotive Forum event

ahead of the New York Auto Show.

"We don't allow Huawei to come into our telecommunications

infrastructure. We're not going to allow Chinese automakers into

this market," Moreno said, referring to U.S. government rules

barring the Chinese telecom company. "We're going to prevent the

cancer from coming into our market, and we're going to need the

other countries to do chemotherapy."

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said China's door has been

open to global auto companies but the United States has "engaged

in trade protectionism and set up obstacles including

discriminatory subsidy policies to obstruct access to the U.S.

market by Chinese-made cars."

The embassy added Moreno's legislation "violates the

principles of a market economy and fair competition, and is

typical protectionism and economic coercion. China firmly

opposes this."

Trump ​is expected to visit China in May as the world's two

biggest economies seek to maintain ​the stability that has

characterized their relations since late last year, after a

bruising period marked by Trump's tariffs and ‌China's chokehold

⁠on rare earths exports.

In January, Trump said he was ​open to Chinese automakers

building vehicles in the United States. "If they want to ​come

in ⁠and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and

your neighbors, that's great, I love that," he told the Detroit

Economic Club.