WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today published a majority report entitled “The United States and Europe: A Concrete Agenda for Transatlantic Cooperation on China,”to advance greater collaboration between the United States and Europe on the challenges posed by China.
Risch is convening a virtual event to mark the release of the report with Member of European Parliament David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The event is being moderated by Jamie Fly, senior fellow and senior advisor to the president at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Click here to watch the event now.
“I am very glad to be joined today by David McAllister and Tom Tugendhat, my counterparts from the EU and U.K. Foreign Affairs Committees, to launch a new SFRC report on how the U.S. and Europe can and must work together to face the challenges that China poses to us all. As chairman, I have focused a great deal on confronting the problems posed by China and also on strengthening relationships with our European allies, having given a speech on the topic at CSIS a year ago, in addition to introducing landmark legislation on China policy this past summer. Legislatures in free and open nations must step up and do our part to protect our freedoms and uphold the interests and values that nations on both sides of the Atlantic share. It is my hope that this report and event are just the starting point as we continue to chart a cooperative path forward on China,” said Chairman Risch.
“The transatlantic partners are facing similar challenges as regards China: unfair trade practices, cyber security, disinformation and the pursuit for geopolitical and technological dominance. A new administration is promising a new start for the transatlantic relations. This could be used to strengthen EU-US cooperation with regard to China, notably in the areas of trade, technology, the defence of rules-based multilateralism and human rights. We, as legislators, have a strong role to play in this,” said Member of European Parliament David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“It’s clear to policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic that we’re seeing active attempts by the Communist Party of China to undermine the rules based system and rewrite the code of global exchange. We need to back our values and invest in our allies to defend our interests, and that means a coordinated response. The peace and prosperity of the last 70 years is based on the values of freedom that matter to us, together we can defend them,” said Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
“This report, with its clear, practical recommendations for the United States and Europe, comes at an important moment in the transatlantic debate about China. Just as the United States and its European allies have tackled so many other challenges together, hopefully leaders on both sides of the Atlantic will follow this report’s advice and find common approaches to ensure that China does not further threaten the prosperity and security of Americans and Europeans,” said Jamie Fly, senior fellow and senior advisor to the president at The German Marshall Fund of the United States.
A copy of the full SFRC majority report can be found here.
In the press:
The Wall Street Journal wrote an exclusive on Chairman Risch’s majority committee report earlier today:
“Republicans from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are set to release a report Wednesday on working more closely with European partners, the United Nations and other market-led democracies.
“‘It is our populations—the U.S. and Europe—that built the world order of today, not China,” said Sen. Jim Risch, the chairman of the Senate committee, in an interview. “The world order that we have, based on democracy and based on the rule of law, is where this planet should go if it’s going to have a future.’”
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“The GOP report, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, recommends putting aside differences with Europe that have rankled ties both during the Trump administration and before, including a trade dispute over government subsidies that has pitted Boeing Co. against Airbus SE, so that the two sides can work more closely together on China.
“‘That really needs to be resolved,” Mr. Risch said of the aircraft dispute, which has continued as China seeks to build its own world-class passenger planes. “While Europe and the U.S. are pushing and shoving on the dance floor, the Chinese and the Russians are watching from the buffet table and being entertained.’”
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“‘Alone, the United States and Europe cannot compete with China’s massive market and the large state resources the PRC is pouring into emerging technology,” the Senate report says, referring to the People’s Republic of China.”
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