Competition with China is an “existential” question in Washington
A US congressional committee is working on the many threats posed by Beijing in the economic, technological and military fields.
The hearing was briefly interrupted by a protester who rose from the public bench wearing a “China is not our enemy” T-shirt.
Getty Images via AFP
A new US congressional committee dedicated to competition with China held its first public hearing on Tuesday, with lawmakers stressing the “existential” threat posed by the ruling party in Beijing.
The House Committee on “Strategic Rivalry between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party,” made up of elected Republicans and Democrats, sees itself as a force in the fight against the Asian giant’s influence.
The inquiry comes after recent conflicts between the world’s two largest economies have strained their relations. Washington accused Beijing of considering supplying Russia with deadly weapons of war, just weeks after the Chinese balloon episode was shot down by a US fighter jet.
“Existential Struggle”
The hearing was briefly interrupted by a protester who rose from the public bench wearing a “China is not our enemy” T-shirt. As she was ejected, another shouted “this commission is a show of force and has nothing to do with peace” before ejecting her.
For Donald Trump’s former national security adviser HR McMaster, the disruption illustrates the need for the US Congress to reveal the “true nature of the aggression” perpetrated by the ruling party in Beijing.
“This is not a good tennis match,” warned Republican Mike Gallagher, the commission’s chairman-elect, in his introduction. “It’s an existential struggle about how to live life in the 21st century,” he said.
Many threats
Matthew Pottinger, an adviser on China under the Trump administration, underscored the importance of Beijing’s influence war, saying Chinese President Xi Jinping sees the campaign as a “magic weapon.” “But this mantra is slowly running out of steam,” he told elected members of Congress.
The commission must address the many threats posed by Chinese power in the economic, technological, and military spheres. China was on the menu for several meetings on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, underscoring its centrality in foreign policy discussions.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has debated a Republican-backed bill that would give President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok, a subsidiary of Chinese group Pite Dance, from the United States. A commission devoted to scientific issues also wondered about the impact of Chinese competition on R&D in the United States.
AFP
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