WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing on strategic competition with the PRC: assessing U.S. competitiveness beyond the Indo-Pacific. Witnesses included The Honorable Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of State.
Ranking Member Risch gave the following remarks:
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, let me say regarding the elections in Venezuela, I share many of your concerns and I’m going to have another venue where I will be responding to that further. Certainly, it’s a real concern.
“Deputy Secretary Campbell, thank you for being here today.
“It’s obvious to all that China’s ambitions are global. It is proactive in every region and reaps strategic benefit from chaos in Europe and the Middle East. China’s support for fentanyl trafficking and its spy post in Cuba demonstrate a desire to target the United States and undermine our efforts to prioritize resources to compete with them.
“That said, the administration wrongly insists it is winning the competition with China – not so.
“Let’s start with the Indo-Pacific. The balance of power in the region continues to move in China’s favor. The administration’s response to China’s escalation against the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal has been limited to verbal assurances but no concrete action. Talking about a treaty without strong action only encourages China to further test U.S. resolve.
“On AUKUS – we have not realized the promise – the bright promise – of this partnership. It was supposed to be a game-changer, but State’s exclusion of the exact technologies we need to advance AUKUS has inhibited this partnership from moving aggressively to reality.
“On Europe – yesterday, I published a report that evaluated the administration’s policies to strengthen transatlantic unity on China. Across the board, but especially on trade and Africa policy, the administration’s record is dismal.
“China is tightening its linkages with our adversaries, and the administration is doing almost nothing about it. China is providing material support to Russia’s war effort. Secretary Blinken often repeats that 70% of machine tools and 90% of microelectronics used in Russian weapons come from China – he’s right.
“But the administration hasn’t acted in proportion to the scale of these sins. Recent actions on some Chinese microelectronics companies are ridiculously inadequate. Aggressively targeting China should be the top priority in U.S. sanctions policy.
“Mr. Campbell, in your confirmation hearing, you assured me you understood the risks of inviting China into a peace process for Ukraine – you recall that, I’m sure. Since then, Department officials have told this committee that China must be at the table because its presence will somehow create ‘daylight’ between it and Russia. I find this preposterous.
“So today I ask you: What is our policy? Do you and the administration really believe China should have a say in European security affairs?
“On Iran, because the administration has failed to curb Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, Congress had to pass new legislation to sanction China. We expect the administration to pursue sanctions in compliance with the law. Today, you don’t see much enthusiasm.
“Despite all of these issues, the president welcomed Xi to the United States in November.
“The Biden-Harris Administration agreed – without getting any reciprocal commitments – to facilitate Chinese engagement on climate with state and local actors in the U.S., even though China clearly uses subnational diplomacy for malign purposes.
“The administration then supported this initiative’s first event at Berkeley – a university that failed to report hundreds of millions in research funding from China.
“Last year, I predicted China would agree to new dialogues to placate us, only to use these initiatives against us later. They just did that by cancelling arms control talks yet again. How did State respond? By publishing – PUBLISHING – our U.S. nuclear stockpile totals so Xi knows that we are reducing our capability while China’s grows. And, of course, reciprocity did not follow. Tthe only thing it did was save China the expense of going through the usual spy proceedings to get the size of our U.S. nuclear stockpile – ridiculous.
“This is not competing. This is pandering. We cannot keep making these mistakes.
“China must be an American issue – not a Republican or Democrat issue. Congress has tried for more than a year to negotiate a bipartisan China bill, but efforts have failed because the administration and some up here love to talk about tougher policies to limit China’s aggressive behavior, but only talk and won’t act to actually take tough action.
“They don’t want to limit PRC money in our universities. They don’t want to reform foreign lobbying laws. They don’t want to stop nuclear dialogues that give China clear insight into our nuclear programs. And they support international energy policies that actually undermine our partners’ economic reality and needs.
“It is time our government wake up to the real challenges China presents and start taking concrete actions. The days of admiring the problem from afar must be over.
“Congress needs to update the Foreign Agents Registration Act, reduce foreign influence in universities and think tanks, punish China for abuse of U.S. diplomats, advance real economic agendas with our partners, oppose China’s growing clout at the IMF, and much more. It’s past time we take a tougher line to stop Chinese malign influence.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Witness testimony is available on foreign.senate.gov.
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