Washington D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) delivered the following remarks during today’s subcommittee hearing on U.S. interests in East Asia and the Pacific and the FY20 budget. Lead Republican McCaul addressed ways to stand up against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) territorial aggression, their unfair and illegal business practices, and nefarious efforts to stifle democracy around the globe. Read the full transcript of Congressman McCaul’s remarks as delivered below:

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-Remarks as Delivered-

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the Assistant Secretary and Ms. Steel.

“I think I speak for many of us here that your area of responsibility with China is at the forefront of our strategic long-range diplomatic, security and economic considerations here in Washington. I want to say this morning, I had the honor to hold a press conference with the Speaker and Members of both parties in support of the Human Rights and Democracy Act in support of Hong Kong and I think that will be heard around the globe, especially in China and in Hong Kong.

“As a Pacific power, the United States has always been tightly linked to the other Indo-Pacific nations. But under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is challenging American leadership like never before—stepping up terrorist aggressions, territorial aggression I should say, against our partners and allies; openly engaging in unfair and illegal business practices; and exporting authoritarian ideology across the globe.

“Simply put, China is our strategic adversary and I am glad we are no longer asleep at the switch any longer.  It is my hope the Administration and Congress can work together, in a bipartisan way, with more urgency.  We must implement the Indo-Pacific Strategy across every branch of government to stop Communist China from achieving global dominance. And make no mistake – that is their goal.

“Xi Jinping’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and associated debt traps has set the stage for economic and diplomatic coercion and military expansion. As part of this program, China has tried to build military bases in the South Pacific to cut us off from Australia and New Zealand. In Africa, they have a military base next to ours in Djibouti.  China has even made major inroads in the Western Hemisphere – controlling both sides of Teddy Roosevelt’s Panama Canal. 

“On the technology side, our intelligence community has warned us that China’s victory in the 5G battle would mean CCP control over the bulk of global data—an unacceptable risk to Americans’ personal privacy and our security.

“According to Made in China 2025, they plan to dominate vital emerging technologies like AI, semiconductors, and quantum computing. Just imagine if China wins the quantum race and encryption will be almost meaningless; that is a Sputnik moment we cannot allow to happen.

“Xi Jinping’s desire for power and control goes beyond his territorial and global ambitions.

“Today, the Communist Party of China is putting the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in ‘concentration camps’; criminalizing faith and culture; and denying basic guaranteed freedoms to the people of Hong Kong. 

“As important as it is to call them out for these crimes that make the headlines, we must also look deeper at their other nefarious, and I would say deceptive, efforts. 

“Chinese companies with non-transparent corporate structures, questionable records, and links to the Communist Chinese Party benefit from billions in U.S. capital – including our hard-earned pension dollars – even though they’re not subject to the same basic oversight or accounting standards as American companies. Imagine our own thrift savings plans here in the federal government somehow assisting the Chinese Communist Party. 

“Their aggressive infiltration targets have attacked Americans. They have, for example, a comprehensive national effort called the Thousand Talents Program, that I have tried to called attention to, whose goal is to ‘facilitate the legal and illicit transfer of U.S. technology, intellectual property and know-how’ from our businesses and universities to China.  In fact, MD Anderson in my district, or in my state I should say, have three indictments of potential Chinese espionage cases—immunotherapy being a breakthrough in cancer research. 

“And they also interfere with our democracy, and I’d like to go back to when I was a young DOJ prosecutor. I became intimately familiar with this effort, in the late 1990s, to influence our political processes when I participated in the campaign finance task force and was a lead prosecutor in the Johnny Chung case. That case led us to the Director of Chinese Intelligence, who worked with China Aerospace and the PLA military intelligence apparatus, to funnel almost $400,000 to the Clinton Campaign in order to get privileged access to influence U.S. policy towards China. So, influencing our elections is nothing new, and we must remind China’s leaders that any interference in our 2020 elections will not be tolerated. 

“Finally, and saddest of all, they are facilitating the death of tens of thousands of Americans every year by knowingly manufacturing and shipping Fentanyl and its precursors.

“Mr. Secretary, you have a vital and challenging job—and what a great foreign policy for China—they look back at the opium wars, they can poison Americans and make money off it. Now I am sure you were heartened recently as thousands of brave democratic activists assembled outside the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong, waving American flags, singing our anthem, and demanding that the United States stand up to the Chinese Communist Party. Just today, I was honored to meet with them. They are a true inspiration for democracy over tyranny. 

“Sir, I thank you for being here today and Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, thank you for holding this hearing.

“I yield back.”

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