ICYMI: McCaul and McCarthy in National Review: It’s Time to Get Serious about the People’s Republic of China

Lead Republican McCaul and Leader McCarthy: It’s Time to Get Serious about the People’s Republic of China

By: House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican and China Task Force Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)

National Review

September 30, 2020

As the Chinese Communist Party commemorates its 71st anniversary of seizing power, Americans increasingly recognize a simple fact: The fundamental character of the Communist regime has never changed and will never change.

Despite promising reforms for decades, the CCP is no closer to allowing political freedom than it was at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The brutal crackdowns in Hong Kong, the systematic attempt to destroy the Uyghur culture in Xinjiang, and the relentless assault on the sovereignty of neighboring nations all testify to a stubborn truth: The People’s Republic of China remains a ruthless, one-party dictatorship.

We’ve seen what happens when American politicians and businesses ignore this reality. It isn’t good.

For more than 40 years, previous administrations pursued a policy of accommodation towards the PRC. President Obama welcomed a strong PRC, claiming it was “a positive good” and “ultimately translates into more American jobs.” The tradeoff was simple: We bend to their wishes, they reform.

But the optimistic prognostications proved wrong. By accommodating them, we were changed by the CCP, not the other way around. America hemorrhaged millions of manufacturing jobs, the CCP and its companies stole billions through intellectual-property theft, and the PRC’s military presence expanded across three continents.

If this policy of unprincipled engagement continues, the United States stands to lose the future to today’s Communist superpower. It’s time to confront their global malign ambitions head on.

House Republicans on the China Task Force have put forward policies to end America’s dependence on the PRC while protecting Americans’ safety and well-being. Our comprehensive recommendations mobilize strategic U.S. government action in six areas: ideological competition, supply chains, national security, technology, the economy and energy, and competitiveness.

Without question, we must strengthen our military, and stop both CCP theft and its influence operations here at home. We begin by giving the Department of Defense the resources it needs to modernize the force and close the capability gap in specific areas, such as research and development. We also focus on providing the Department of Justice the resources it needs to investigate and prosecute visa fraud.

Beyond strengthening our national-security capabilities, we must also fortify our position on the commanding heights of the economic battlefield. Our plan doubles research and development funding for artificial intelligence and quantum computing across the federal government over the next two years, and ensures that both international 5G standards and the fabrication of advanced semiconductor chips are led by America. But just as American companies need to understand the stakes, CCP-affiliated companies need to face consequences. That is why our plan protects homegrown innovation by imposing sanctions on PRC entities that engage in industrial spying, including hacking U.S. researchers who are developing a vaccine for COVID-19.

This op-ed was originally published in National Review.

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