House Select Committee Examines Chinese Communist Party Threats to US Interests

On Tuesday, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party held a hearing titled: The Chinese Communist Party’s Threat to America.^[0] The panel will be led by congressman Mike Gallagher, a Republican of Wisconsin and prominent “China hawk”, and congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat of Illinois, who will serve as the committee’s ranking member.

The hearing had four witnesses, including H R McMaster, a retired Army lieutenant general who was former Republican President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, and Matt Pottinger, a longtime China hawk who was Trump’s deputy national security adviser.^[0] It was reported to the committee that China is a bigger danger to American interests than the Soviet Union was.^[1]

Tong Yi, a Chinese human rights activist and former secretary to one of China’s leading dissidents, Wei Jingsheng, also testified and told the committee about her experiences with the Chinese Communist Party from her protests at Tiananmen Square to her arrest in the 1990s during the pro-democracy movement.^[2]

Congressman Mike Gallagher emphasized that the committee would work in a bipartisan fashion to expose the threats the CCP poses to US national security and economic interests. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi stressed that the target of their scrutiny is China’s ruling party, not its people, and hope their work yields policy and legislative recommendations that win support from lawmakers of both parties.^[3]

We are not looking to engage in any kind of conflict with the People's Republic of China, be it a cold war, a hot war, or a “We do not want a war with the PRC, not a cold war, not a hot war, we don't want a “clash of civilisations.” Krishnamoorthi said.^[6]

The hearing was briefly disrupted by protestors who held signs that read “China Is Not Our Enemy” and called for cooperation instead of competition with China.^[7] Congressman Ro Khanna of California also spoke, saying “It takes guts to come into the halls of power with a dissenting view. When we listen to dissent, we show exactly what makes America different from the Chinese Communist Party.”^[2]

The hearing comes amid heightened tension between Beijing and Washington after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over North America was shot down.^[6] Recently, the Director of the CIA, Mr. Burns, made a

0. “New House US-China committee holds first hearing, focusing on communist ‘threat'” ABC News, 28 Feb. 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/houses-new-us-china-committee-holds-hearing-focusing/story?id=97496578

1. “China a Greater Threat Than Soviet Union Ever Was: H.R. McMaster” Newsweek, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/us-house-select-committee-china-communist-party-competition-1784605

2. “Rep. Mike Gallagher hearing on China challenges: 4 key takeaways” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/28/rep-mike-gallagher-hearing-on-china-challenges-4-key-takeaways/69955250007/

3. “Capitol Hill finds rare bipartisan cause in China – but it could pose problems” The Guardian US, 27 Feb. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/chinese-balloon-bipartisan-capitol-hill-risk

4. “‘Time is not on our side': Congress panel says tackling China defines next century” The Guardian US, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/01/time-not-on-our-side-congress-panel-says-tackling-china-defines-next-century

5. “New US House Committee Focuses on Strategic Competition with China” Voice of America – VOA News, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/new-us-house-committee-focuses-on-strategic-competition-with-china/6984605.html

6. “New US House committee on China cites ‘existential struggle’” Al Jazeera English, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/1/us-house-panel-on-china-cites-existential-struggle

7. “CODEPINK Disrupts China-Hating House Select Committee – CODEPINK – Women for Peace” CodePink, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.codepink.org/_codepink_disrupts_china_hating_house_select_committee