The Daunting Task the New China Committee Faces

A new House panel debuts with a prime-time hearing and questions about how to address threats from the Chinese government.

By
8
A protester disrupts the first hearing of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party as Lt. Gen. H.R. McCaster testifies alongside human rights activist Tong Yi. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Watching the first hearing of the House’s new select committee on competition with the Chinese Communist Party was like drinking from a firehose.

For three hours on Tuesday night, lawmakers and witnesses discussed human rights abuses, genocide in Xinjiang, forced labor legislation, Taiwan, TikTok, spy balloons, trade deficits, COVID-19, intellectual property theft, agricultural land purchases, anti-Asian discrimination, U.S. business investments in China, currency manipulation, America’s military posture in the Indo-Pacific, rare earth minerals, climate change, electric vehicles, fentanyl, global Chinese influence operations, trade agreements in southeast Asia, and the CCP’s vast regime of internet censorship and surveillance. 

And that’s far from an exhaustive list.

The committee’s first hearing was designed to raise awareness about the issues within the panel’s purview and to set the stage for its future work. But the hearing’s vast scope makes clear how much work this committee has ahead of it—and raises questions about just how effective the new panel can be.

Keep reading with a free account
Create a free Dispatch account to keep reading Get Started ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN IN
8
By
Comments (8)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Avatar photo
    Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

    I get the sense code Pink may be nothing more than underemployed performers being hired. Maybe they are idealistic, but if the nuance of conflating the country and the party is too much for them to understand, they might just be stupid.

    the Chinese people are great--like half this country feels at any given time, it's their government which troubles me.

    Collapse
  2. Joe1776

    "Rep. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, argued that one of the best ways for the United States to compete with China is for lawmakers to push back on authoritarianism at home—his words serving as a grim reminder of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election."

    I am not sure those words would remind half the country of the January 6th protest that turned violent. Half the country would be reminded of the FBI sending in a swat team with guns drawn to arrest a pro lifer accused of shoving someone, and our FBI telling private companies they should censor certain citizens etc.

    But the point is this committee needs to focus in on China. If it can't do that and it ends up trying to argue there is some sort of equivalence between the US and China then it is really just doing propaganda of the CCP.

    Collapse
  3. Avatar photo
    Gibby

    This is an essential committee. I hope everyone involved recognizes that. With each passing month the prospect of a confrontation with China will look more and more likely. As that happens China policy will replace 1/6/2011 the way that 1/6/2011 replaced 9/11/2001 as the "one issue" that needed to be addressed.

    We don't see it yet but 2024 will be an election about foreign policy and specifically China.

    This committee is not yet on people's brains but that will change. God bless it's members

    Collapse
  4. Chrisisdiy

    Right, China isn't it enemy the CCP is. Maybe we should stop referring to a whole country when we really mean the selfish brutal totalitarian regime. Let's be honest, the American public is at least smart enough to understand you can be pro-China but anti-CCP

    Collapse
  5. Avatar photo
    Connie

    I’m pleased this committee was created. I’ll be watching the hearing tonight.

    We have been feeding the dragon for so long that we have allowed it to grow bigger and stronger.

    It’s sad that the committee needs to clarify between the CCP and the Chinese people. I cannot even imagine what it is like to live under such oppression. I doubt any of us in a free country can imagine it.

    However, with all the Getty Images you could have chosen, I do not know why you decided to give Code Pink the attention they crave. That kind of disruption is completely inappropriate; and I highly doubt they expect to change any minds that way. What an embarrassment to themselves, and their colossal arrogance does not even see it.

    Collapse
  6. Trichwages

    Thank you for watching, Haley, so I did not have to. Your summary pretty much outlines why I did not.

    I AM, however, interested in what comes out of the Committee’s work. My hope would be that they go somewhere away from the cameras and make actual bi-partisan policy recommendations based on thorough investigation and fact-finding.

    Time will tell whether my hopes are realized or if this just devolves into another opportunity for political grandstanding and photo ops.

    Collapse
  7. Avatar photo
    Wilhelm

    I have a feeling that this committee is going to generate a lot of news. Thanks for the preview, Haley.

    Collapse
  8. Philebus

    I had intended to watch the proceedings but it slipped my mind. 3 hours is a commitment; it may have to wait for the weekend. Thanks for the fair warning.

    Collapse