Congress is stepping up efforts to counter growing Chinese “economic aggression” by calling on the US to cut more financial ties with the communist regime.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a comprehensive report Tuesday morning outlining the many challenges facing China and the U.S. and its allies.
“This is not only a blueprint for how we can reduce risks from China, but also how we can boost the American economy for decades to come,” Speaker Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told DailyMail.com in a phone call. . ‘The status quo isn’t working.’
The 53-page, two-part report includes a series of more than 150 recommendations for the US to most effectively counter China and break away from its dependence on the enemy nation. It is intended as an outline for implementing legislative solutions that could gain Republican and Democratic support in the coming months.
The first of three “pillars” is to “reset the terms” of the United States’ economic relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and “recognize the serious risks of economic dependence on a strategic competitor.”
President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month during the Apec summit in San Francisco
Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., at a Special Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Meeting
The lawmakers write that both the government and private sector “can no longer ignore the systemic risks associated with doing business in China.”
Their recommendation is to implement new tariffs within a “relatively short period of time” to give the US economy time to adjust.
These proposed tariffs would be imposed on new items, including smartphones and toys, in addition to increasing previous taxes.
Lawmakers say that when China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the expected economic benefits fell short.
Second, the report says the US must immediately put an end to the “technology and capital” that are “fueling” China’s military modernization and human rights abuses.
Their recommendations include ways the U.S. can “create transparency” about U.S. companies that have invested in the PRC – and disclose associated “key risks.”
Specifically, annual disclosure requirements, “to ensure transparency for investors,” should include details of “material ties to the CCP” and profits.
The Treasury Department would also be required to provide “monthly reports” on U.S. portfolios of “foreign securities by nationality” and expand this to include the sector – on which the department currently does not collect data.
Third, the US must invest in itself to further disengage from China and be able to stand on its own in the event that Taiwan is invaded in the near future.
The strategy should be “proactive” so that the US can “increase economic and technological cooperation” with “like-minded partners” and allies.
All three pillars together would “level the economic playing field, reduce the PRC’s hold on critical U.S. and allied supply chains, and invest in a future of continued economic and technological leadership for the United States and its like-minded allies and partners.” . report states.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, R-Ill., who serves as a ranking member on the panel, told DailyMail.com that the report is a “consensus product.”
“This is really important — I call it upping our game,” he added, specifically about Pillar Three, driving development and boosting the U.S. workforce.
The report comes as Beijing’s military has dug into more than 20 major suppliers in the past year alone, including a water company in Hawaii, a major port on the west coast and at least one oil and gas pipeline, analysts have revealed .
They have bypassed complex cybersecurity systems by intercepting passwords and logins not monitored by junior employees, leaving China “sitting on a stockpile of strategic” vulnerabilities.
The project, codenamed Volt Typhoon, coincided with growing tension over Taiwan and could decouple US efforts to protect its interests in the South China Sea.
“It is very clear that Chinese efforts to compromise critical infrastructure are partly to prepare themselves to disrupt or destroy that critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict,” said Brandon Wales of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure. Security Agency (CISA).
The hackers often hide their tracks by taking advantage of unsuspecting devices, such as home or office routers, in an attempt to steal employee login credentials, officials said.
Another issue top of mind for Congress is Chinese infiltration of Guam, a key U.S. military installation.
Analysts believe the Chinese military has changed its strategy from intelligence gathering to infiltration in an effort to sow chaos should war break out.
The Chinese focus on Guam is of particular importance as the US territory is a key military base in the Pacific and would be a key stage for any US response in the event of a conflict in Taiwan or the South China Sea.
In 2019, the Biden administration adopted a policy to allow Chinese nationals to visit the Northern Mariana Islands for fourteen days without a visa. From there, many would charter boats to Guam to obtain information on sensitive U.S. military sites.
Senator Joni Ernst, speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com earlier this month at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, said the visa loophole allows spies to “look hard” at what the US is doing militarily in Guam and then use that against us.’
‘We are trying to close those loopholes in the law. I just think it’s really, really important that we do this,” said Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.