US-China Commission provides second opinion

Today, the bipartisan U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released its annual report to Congress, offering an authoritative assessment of current trends in U.S.-China relations that will have negative consequences for our long-term economic and national security interests.

The hard-hitting report – approved by a vote of 11-1 – offers in-depth analysis of the national security implications of America’s overall bilateral relationship with China, warning that Beijing is using all means at its disposal to replace the United States as the preeminent power in Asia. It details China’s militarily provocative actions, including its offensive military modernization program aimed at strengthening its force projection capabilities to confront U.S. and other allied forces the region, and the extensive proliferation-related offenses of PRC-controlled firms.

The report also calls attention to economic tools employed by the PRC in its campaign against the United States. As USCC Vice-Chairman and Center for Security Policy Senior Resident Fellow Roger Robinson observed upon the report’s release:  "The impact of China on our nation’s economy – through such venues as trade…China’s acquisitions in the U.S., and currency valuation – inescapably affects our national security."

This analysis tracks closely with testimony delivered in July by Center President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., before the House Armed Services Committee, in which Gaffney warned "the PRC’s aim is inexorably to supplant the United States as the world’s premier economic power and, if necessary, to defeat us militarily."

Despite being confronted by such a challenge, the report observes, the United States has failed to develop a coherent strategic framework in its approach to China in a way that protects vital U.S. interests. The report provides invaluable recommendations around which a national strategy could coalesce that would do much to mitigate the negative consequences that have emerged from China’s adversarial relationship with the United States. The USCC’s many suggestions include:

• Increasing U.S. military capabilities in the Western Pacific in response to growing Chinese capabilities and deployments in the region

• Extending penalties to U.S. parent companies whose subsidiaries aid China in proliferation

• Reforming the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. (CFIUS) to give it more effective oversight by Congress, to ensure its standards of review include national security

The Commission is to be commended for its tireless work in exposing the rising threat from the East to American security. Let us hope Congress acts on its more important recommendations without delay.