Select Committee On The CCP

The United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party is a committee of the United States House of Representatives established in the 118th Congress, on January 10, 2023. The committee focuses on American economic and security competition with the People's Republic of China, which is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The committee is chaired by Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, a member of the Republican Party.

History

Republicans in Congress tried to introduce a proposal for a committee dedicated to China near the end of the 116th Congress in 2021, abandoning the effort when negotiations between the Republican minority and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi faltered. A Republican-led China Task Force later emerged under Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Michael McCaul which, though partisan in nature, introduced hundreds of policy proposals with often robust bipartisan support. It also worked with the country's ''de facto'' embassy in Washington to advance U.S. military aid to Taiwan. The committee produced a wide-ranging and partly classified report in September 2020.

In October 2022, Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told reporters that an independent China committee would "go a long way towards coordinating policy across the many committee jurisdictions and thereby create a more coherent approach to our China policy".

On December 8, 2022, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican nominee for the Speaker of the House, unveiled the committee among a slate of efforts to confront, counter, and respond to the Chinese government in an op-ed that argued that the United States was locked in a new Cold War with China:

"To win the new Cold War, we must respond to Chinese aggression with tough policies to strengthen our economy, rebuild our supply chains, speak out for human rights, stand against military aggression, and end the theft of Americans’ personal information, intellectual property, and jobs. We must recognize that China’s " peaceful rise" was pure fiction and finally to confront and respond to the Chinese Communist Party with the urgency the threat demands. To do that, House Republicans will establish a Select Committee on China in the new Congress."

In his response to his appointment as committee chair, Gallagher said:

"The greatest threat to the United States is the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP continues to commit genocide, obscure the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, steal hundreds of billions of dollars worth of American intellectual property, and threaten Taiwan. The Select Committee on China will push back in bipartisan fashion before it’s too late."

In an op-ed to FoxNews.com, the two described the committee as the starting point for a holistic government approach that would build on the efforts of the previous Republican-led China Task Force and "ensure America is prepared to tackle the economic and security challenges posed by the CCP."
In December 2022, '' The Hill'' reported that the committee was likely to focus not only on international affairs but also topics of concern regarding the influence of the Chinese Communist Party within the United States, including large purchases of American agricultural lands by Chinese firms, China's human rights issues, and "ideological warfare."

In December 2023, the committee released a set of 150 legislative recommendations to "reset" US economic relations with China.

In 2023, the committee issued a report describing an illegal biolab in Reedley, California, and accused a lab worker and a citizen of China, of "transporting infectious diseases as well as stealing American and Canadian intellectual property". The report also alleged that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) response had improperly failed to test the samples found in the lab, allegations that the CDC strongly disputed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation closed its investigation, concluding that "there were no weapons of mass destruction on the property".

In April 2024, Gallagher resigned from the House and Moolenaar took over as committee chair.

Members, 119th Congress

See also

* United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission
* Congressional-Executive Commission on China
* Cox Report
* Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China

Notes

References

External links

Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
on Congress.gov

Hearings and meetings video
on Congress.gov

{{Authority control

118th United States Congress
2023 establishments in Washington, D.C.
China–United States relations
Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
Government agencies established in 2023
Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
Taiwan–United States relations