During a first hearing on Tuesday, the elected Republicans and Democrats of the new parliamentary committee on China agreed on the need to counter the rise of Beijing.
By Le Figaro
Published
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Gathered for the first time in audience on the theme of “the Chinese Communist Party’s threat to America“, the elected Democrats and Republicans of the US Congress Committee on China warned bluntly on February 28 regarding the risks posed to Washington by the rise of Beijing. “This is not a polite tennis match. It’s an existential struggle over what life will be like in the 21st century.“, declared by way of introduction Mike Gallagher, chairman of the new parliamentary committee.
The commission, held in the presence of members of civil society, human rights representatives and pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, discussed for several hours the multiple aspects of Chinese influence, from the use of social network TikTok to attacks on Taiwan, up to origins of Covid-19. For Mike Gallagher, the policy vis-à-vis Beijing “over the next ten years will set the stage for the next hundred years». «Time is not on our side“, he warned.
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Consensus between Democrats and Republicans
The elected representative from Wisconsin notably insisted on the need for unity between Democrats and Republicans, worrying that this would be in danger as the 2024 presidential campaign approached, when Republicans might want to show a Joe Biden”weak once morest China“. The committee’s Democratic co-chair, Raja Krishnamoorthi, echoed this point, condemning the naïveté of the idea that China’s economic integration might “inexorably lead to democracy».
Those who believed this haveunderratedthe Chinese government, said the elected Democrat, who urges in favor of increased American economic competitiveness to counter Chinese power. “We don’t want a war with the PRC, not a cold war, not a hot war“, however assured the elected official of Illinois, “we do not want a ‘clash of civilizations’. But we seek lasting peace. And that’s why we must deter aggression».
Present at the hearing, the former assistant security adviser under Donald Trump, Matt Pottinger, estimated for his part that the ability of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to present itself as an entity “responsible» et «normal” was “one of the great magic tricks of the modern era». «You might say that the CCP is the Harry Houdini of Marxist-Leninist regimes, the David Copperfield of communism, the Criss Angel of autocracy “, he continued, ending however by affirming that “the magic fades».
Tensions between Beijing and Washington
This first meeting is being held in a context of renewed tensions between Washington and Beijing. In early February, the Pentagon successively alerted to the presence of several “chinese spy balloons» over the United States, Canada and as far as Latin America. The Republicans had stepped up to the plate, criticizing the Biden Administration for the lack of information given to Congress on these balloons finally shot down. The heads of the parliamentary committee on China then denounced a “violation of American sovereignty».
Also in the context of the war in Ukraine, without pronouncing for or once morest the “special operationfrom Russia, China has repeatedly expressed its support for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions. In late February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed fears that China was considering supplying arms to Russia, comments Beijing was quick to deny.
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Asked regarding the message sent by China by sending its balloons, the former national security adviser HR McMaster, also present at the hearing, declared to see there the “metaphor for massive espionage effortChinese around the world. China, meanwhile, has always categorically denied these accusations, now that they are mere scientific research devices.
