House Foreign Affairs Exposes Weak Points in US China Defense

On Feb. 28, the House Foreign Affairs Committee took up the subject of the Communist Chinese Party's (CCP) persistent aggression against the United States and the West's interests around the globe. From mounting evidence of Beijing's complicity in spreading the coronavirus in 2019 and the growing threat of a Russia-China collaboration in Ukraine to the Red Dragon’s nearly continuous hostile actions in the Straits of Taiwan against the Taiwanese government, China is a problem that needs complete and effective attention.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Questions Biden Administration

To that end, Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) led the House Foreign Affairs Committee's probe on "Combatting the Generational Challenge of CCP Aggression." Witnesses participating in the proceedings were US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink; Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia Michael Schiffer; Chief Executive Officer of US International Development Finance Corporation Scott Nathan; and Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez.

Of concern to McCaul was getting some assurance from the Department of Commerce that China does not allow technology developed in the United States to fall into the hands of state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran and North Korea. With China's track record of stealing intellectual property, the fear is that Beijing is a willing conduit for transferring weapons-grade and high-tech systems to enable terrorism against the United States and its allies. "McCaul has been pressing Estevez on the need to ensure China is not transferring U.S.-origin technology to state sponsors of terrorism and has called for tighter restrictions on exports to blacklisted companies like China's Huawei, which are viewed as a threat to US national security," according to a Reuters report.

Rep. Burchett Tells Liberty Nation China Is a Dangerous Enemy

The committee’s first agenda item was addressing the threat posed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) by its loose protection and, in many cases, purposeful transfer of America's technology to global exporters of terrorism. Liberty Nation spoke with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), vice chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, about the rising threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Liberty Nation: Vice Chairman Burchett, every day Americans hear about China's growing relationship with Russia and its lethal aid to Moscow to support the brutal war in Ukraine. Another issue is increasing aggression by the CCP toward Taiwan. At the recent House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, witnesses explained that China is attempting to change the nature of the international order with PRC economic and military dominance. How worried should we be about this?

Rep. Burchett: We should be incredibly worried. I've talked to many experts in classified and unclassified meetings that tell me the Chinese Communist Party's attempts to grow its power and infiltrate the United States are widespread and pose a real threat to our national security.

LN: You heard from representatives from several US non-defense government agencies. Particularly troubling is China being a conduit for US technology going to state sponsors of terrorism. Can US government agencies help to strengthen export controls to combat Beijing providing US technology to enable global terrorism?

Burchett: They can get more rigorous about current export controls. When our technology gets shipped out anywhere near the Chinese Communist Party, we need to make sure we know exactly where it's going so there's no opportunity for it to get into the wrong hands.

LN: Did you hear testimony from the witnesses that gave you a sense the United States is prepared to engage successfully to prevent sensitive US weapons-grade technology from getting into the hands of the PRC?

Burchett: No. I still firmly believe we have to step up our efforts against China in lots of ways, including setting much better safeguards against Chinese Communist Party operatives in our defense and technology sectors.

The committee's dialogue with the participating witnesses underscored the threat China represents to the United States and the rest of the world on numerous fronts. It is unclear that the Biden administration is taking effective action to mitigate that threat. Answers were more along the lines of status quo programs. No doubt McCaul called the hearing to determine if the current programs are effective. It seems more aggressive engagement with the CCP is warranted.

The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.