U.S. House Creates New Committee On Competition With China

As one of the first acts of the 118th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to create a new committee, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, which will “investigate and submit policy recommendations on the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and security progress and its competition with the United States.”

While the new committee helps to fulfill a GOP campaign promise to get tougher on China, both Republicans and Democrats support the committee. In fact, the resolution to establish the committee passed on an impressive bipartisan margin of 365-65. (Click here to see how your member of Congress voted.)

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said, “House Democrats have been clear that we are willing to extend the hand of bipartisan partnership on issues where we can work together for the American people, and will also stand up against extremism where necessary.”

The committee is a successor to the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s China Task Force, which had been investigating how to:

• Increase domestic investment in U.S.-based manufacturing, supply chains, and infrastructure;
• Enhance U.S. leadership in writing the rules of trade, globally through leading the modernization of the World Trade Organization and regionally through steps to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and new frameworks such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework;
• Work domestically and with international allies abroad to tighten pressure on China to fully meet its trade and economic commitments and halt problematic trade behaviors; and
• Upgrade national security regulatory frameworks such as investment security and export controls through targeted, effective reforms.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) will chair the new committee, which will be made up of seven Republicans and five Democrats and has the authority to hold public hearings. Read more here.