Transcripts For CSPAN Senate Hearing On Chinas Global Influence 20240712

End and a Pacific Region and they also discuss china handling of coronavirus pandemic. This is just over two hours. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. Welcome everyone, good morning. We will have senators participating both live and virtually. Since it is difficult to figure out when they showed up virtually, we will go on seniority. If that is agreeable with everyone, that is what we will do. Today, we welcome three witnesses to talk with us. Julie chung is here. We appreciate you all being here this morning. Will be talking about china presents us with many challenges. Opportunities as well but right now, challenges. There has been a lot of legislation introduced as far as china is concerned. There was a bill that we introduced earlier this year. That as early as today or yesterday, the minority introduced a bill of which senator schumer is the lead sponsor of the bill. In any event, this is not a partisan issue. This is an american issue. When i put the bill together to bringy, i did so together thought processes of all sides. Sideve people both on this of the isle and the other side, there was a lot of input from a lot of bipartisan effort in the bill. In addition to that, we went on to the think tank, both republican democrat and conservative liberal. I am glad to think there has been this bill introduced by the minority. Can bring themy altogether. This is an american issue. It is not a partisan issue. In july, the deputy secretary testify before the committee on the Administration Strategy for advancing effective competition with china. Today, we will take a deeper look at u. S. Strategy in three important regions. This hearing has three objectives. First, i look forward to the departments assessment of chinas impact in these regions, what china interests are and what it is doing to secure those interests. A lot of those activities are common knowledge. They are in the popular press. There are other things going on. I think it is important. We will see how the United States is advancing our interests and undermining chinas attempts to undermine prosperity and Good Governance in these regions. That is an important thing to shed light on for the american people. Dealinly those of us who in these kinds of things, they are well aware of chinas activities everywhere. We all know that virtually everywhere they go in the world, china is there, attempting to better its position. I think it is important that we shine a light on this in the strategic act. And grow other security partnerships. It means ensuring the region is resourced properly. As a proportion of the state Department Budget and personnel. Chinas primary Foreign Policy objective is to achieve regional supreme is he in the pacific. Getting our policy right in the region impacts the other regions we are examining today. In euro, one of my major priorities is to construct an agenda with our transatlantic s. Rtnership we have exchanged ideas and i can tell you that that idea is hitting a welcoming audience. Of the electric we are strengthening screening to protect technologies. We are cooperating to hold up the integrity of international institutions. This is a good foundation. We can and must build on it together and thwart the Chinese Government passed efforts to turn on one another. Hemisphere, the negative effects of chinese influence are clear. This includes chinas predatory finance mechanisms for Infrastructure Projects all around the world. Projects that are often of questionable value and create severe environmental damage and social unrest. Aggressive and legal chinese fishing practices violate the integrity of latin american countries, raising significant longterm security concerns. China possibly in efforts to trade on the lives of canadian citizens is appalling. I am encouraged by President Trumps efforts and his willingness to collaborate with our neighbors to promote a more prosperous future for transparent and accountable frameworks. This hearing is an opportunity to conduct oversight of u. S. Strategy and initiatives across these different regions. This coronation is important to ensuring that our strategy is articulated coherently and effectively. Take you to the witnesses for being here. Thank you, thank you for convening todays hearing. As you and i have discussed, we share a common view that we have entered a new and more competitive your with china. I china now displaying global ambitions. The reason many on this committee have concerns, they still fall well short of answering the enormity of the challenge. This is unlike any challenge we have faced as a nation before. China is more active and more assertive around the globe than ever before. The trump it mr. Risch and has only empowered chinese aggression and failed american workers. This moment demands a strong, Strategic Response that can be begin to rebuild American Leadership and invest in our ability to outcompete china in the generation ahead. Have joinedtoday i with a number of my democratic colleagues to introduce the america leads act. This bill seeks to do three things, invest in american competitiveness. Invest in american alliances and partners. Invest in our values. Our economic statecraft and make sure that china pays a price for its predatory actions. America leads provides a copy avent coherent, comprehensive, coherent strategy. This starts with the recognition that american competitiveness starts with investments at home. Driven by the need of almost four years of President Trump to retool the economy and compete in the 21st century. Approacher diplomatic is grounded in getting china right and getting the end of pacific strategy right. Alliances andr partnerships, animated by the values that make america exceptional and furthered by a forward leaning approach to our economic statecraft and a tough, pragmatic and realistic appraisal of how to best combat chinas predatory economic trade policies. The legislation also includes provisions for the development and implementation of robust Regional Strategies to meet the challenge that china poses in europe, the western hemisphere, theca, the middle east, arctic and the end of pacific itself. As we discussed at the hearing, i look forward to working with him on areas of conversion. Unified androng, bipartisan approaches on this issue. Turning more specifically to the hearing today, i am interested in hearing from misses chung to get a sense on where they stand in their respective regions of response ability. Europe and the western hemisphere. There is a lively debate across eu countries and between europe and the United States on the right approach to china. Our friends in europe should be among our closest partners. I dont know that anyone would argue that the president s destructive approach of the transatlantic bush ship has made imposing tariffs on not allies success. Recipe for insulting leaders across europe is not a recipe for success. An essential Building Block of our china response must have at transatlanticong alliance come at which today of course does not exist as it has in the past. Over too long, the u. S. Has thought to pressure europe without providing real alternative to china. Examplerhaps the best where the u. S. Did not adequately emphasize european alternatives to huawei, will simply pressuring her allies. That approach is not sustainable for forging a drink strategy on china. Even within the strained confines of President Trumps idea of Transatlantic Relations combat we have to endeavor to make progress. I welcome the call by the e. U. s Josep Borrell rail for a working group on china for a first step. Details will matter to ensure it is not just another talk shop and i look forward on hearing more about this initiative from ambassador rica. The American Economy and european economy working together provides negotiable beverage with china. It may be the factor that truly moves the needle with beijing. We should be laser focused on enhancing that leverage to the fullest extent possible. Nanosphere, chinas presence need not be viewed through the solitary lens of the game. Um however, when we fail to show up as under President Trump we have come at we shouldnt be surprised that chinas influence expands at our expense. The president s misguided belief that every challenge needs to be solved with a sledgehammer, whether he was placing punitive tariffs on our north american neighbors, or cutting foreign assistance off to our Central American partners, has only inflicted damage on the very relationships we need to counter the more corrosive elements of chinas engagement in no hemisphere. Frankly, the Trump Administrations results speak for themselves. Since 2017, at a rate of one per year, panama, the dominican republic, and el salvador have broken relations with taiwan at the behest of beijing. In venezuela, utilizing theeillance technology, maduro regime has expanded its social control over the venezuelan people and remains firmly in control of its criminal cabal. When our allies in canada rightfully arrested huaweis cfo for extradition to the United States, the Trump Administration responded with little more than press statements as beijing placed trust fishes on canadian trade and kidnapped canadian citizens under fabricated criminal charges. Most recently as latin america and the caribbean have become the epicenter of the global covid19 pandemic, the Trump Administration has overpromised and under delivered on coronavirus assistance, while chinas government committed 1 billion in new lending to government in the region for Vaccine Access and delivery. The Development Finance stoodation which congress up process you to provide a reinvigorated approach to International Finance and development assistance, in part so we could better compete with china, has yet to make significant investments in our own hemisphere. When it comes to addressing chinas residence in our hemisphere, the Trump Administrations rhetoric has outpaced its actions, in its attempts at swagger have. This groundbreaking bipartisan bill will strengthen u. S. Diplomatic them a and Security Assistance to the americas and help our closest partners acquire the tools they need to defend their National Interests from chinas predatory practices. The approach to china, europe, the western hemisphere and elsewhere, it is clear that we needed new strategy to cope with the competitive challenge of china. I look forward to a conversation with our witnesses about how we can Work Together to develop a comprehensive approach to china, to reset our strategy and diplomacy, to reinvest and replenish the resources about our National Strength and competitiveness at home, to place our partnerships and analyze first that reflects our fundamental values as americans. Thank you, mr. Chairman. We now turn to our first witness, david still welcome the bureau of east asian affairs. Fryer, he served in the air force. He retired in 2015 as Brigadier General in the asia advisor to chiefs. Rman of joint , he served multiple tours in japan and korea was Defense Attache at the u. S. Embassy in beijing, and most recently he served as director of the China Strategic Focus Group at the u. S. In the Pacific Command in hawaii. , we welcomeillwell you. The floors yours. Mr. Stillwell thank you, members of the Foreign Relations committee. I appreciate the opportunity to testify to discuss the threat posed by the Chinese Communist party. That threats to the United States, to the global order, and what we are doing about it. With several department colleagues, the fact that the three of us are testifying on ccp malign influence across three different regions is a testament to the Global Challenge we face and how the department is adjusting to meet this challenge. For years, we at the International Community credit chineseilitating the entry into the global order would lead to. Beijings persistent flooding of this has cleared those illusions. There foreign and security shape thingsto around the communist party. Beijings my line conduct is increasingly being noticed. Foreign behavior of companies and governments, many pollution of International Organizations, silencing critics abroad, and forcing tech transfer and spreading disinformation, it regis human rights abuses, the blazing or destabilizing territorial provisions. The outbreak of the covid19 especially highlighted the luckl dangers of the ccps of transparency. Today we are engaging with the Chinese Communist party as it is and not as we wish it would be for what it seeks to prevent itself as. Our competition with the republic of china need not lead to conflict. We are restoring balance and stability where the u. S. And the world previously allowed beijing to foment in balance and instability. Of what china policy efforts are guided by the National Security strategy, grouped around four tillers protect american people, homeland and way of life, from what american prosperity, preserve peace through strength, and preserve american influence. All our officers have sufficient policy, clarity, resources, training and data to successfully tackle the problem. We have developed new datadriven diplomacy tools to give our officers the information they require. In response, they have drastically increased their diplomatic reporting on ccp activities and influence. , we are also tripling our foreign deployed regionally focused china experts who identify Regional Trends in Chinese Communist party behavior. Thehe information space, battle against their malign activities requires messaging that is well informed and well executed around the world. Our Public Diplomacy teams work with the bureau of Public Affairs and the Global Engagement entertainer expose malign conduct and counter propaganda and disinformation. In the economic sphere, the prc lending and investment distorts corruption,ourages and unevens the Playing Field for american companies. We are in the forefront of raising awareness about this. We and other agencies are deploying innovative mechanisms including strategic infrastructure, Energy Commercial competition and investment screening. In the Technology Arena summit we have taken measures to deny that p. R. C. The ability to acquire sensitive technologies to advance its military strategy. These measures including assuring that researchers are not able to enter the u. S. For graduatelevel study in fields related to military monetization, and advising. Niversities of the risk more and more countries and that. Ies are doing just last month, secretary pompeo announced a Clean Networks initiative focused on safeguarding citizens privacy and companies most Sensitive Information from adversaries including via apps and app stores, and undersea cables. We also se bringing transparency to beijings vector of influence, including front organizations, state owned enterprises and more. Since february, we have designated as foreign missions, u. S. Based operations of nine propaganda outlets in the confucius institute. In july, we closed the prc consulate in houston due to serious concerns about inappropriate activities of its diplomats. We now require senior prc diplomats to seek permissions before any meetings, events, as beijing has long done to our diplomats in china. In support of these efforts, we appreciate congressional leadership in establishing the new contra china influence fund. This very important provision provides the department with a flexible mechanism that will bolster our efforts to restrict our resiliency restrict china malign influence around the world. If i could just continue this there is a lot to go through here. The resilience of the strength of our global alliances and partnerships is paramount to addressing strategic competition with china, and in no reason is this more true than in the indo pacific. It is about supporting the absurd and some of Indo Pacific States facing the threat of dominance in the region. The United States and a diverse cohort of allies can now speak freely in terms of indo pacific. Similar context have been put forward by japan, australia, taiwan, south korea, as well as the asean. We have advanced our Economic Activities in lockstep with our partners in areas like infrastructure, investment screening and many more. We are strengthening commercial diplomacy to boost alternatives to p. R. C. Economics that these countries saddled with unsustainable debt and vulnerable to political and economic pressure. We launched of the Indo Pacific Transparency Initiative two years ago, with programs focused on particular vectors of p. R. C. Influence including corruption, disinformation and information financing. Coercive we are reinforcing our security commitments to help partners protect their sovereignty and maritime resources. We have doubled development assistance. We are developing you arrangements to coordinate with likeminded artists. Meeting of the United States, australia, india and japan marked a new milestone in indo pacific engagement. Our commitment to the one china policy is firm, including our insistence that crosstrade issues be result peacefully without coercion or intimidation. The recent visit our secretary ar the mustard that the United States will work with taiwan, rebuff economic ties, and continue to vigorously support taiwans meaningful participation in International Organizations. Secretary pompeo announced a change in the u. S. Policy on maritime claims, making clear that beijings claims to resources on the South China Sea are unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them. The secretary also announced restrictions for certain employees of the rc state owned enterprises involved in South China Sea maritime installations. This was coordinated with the department of commerce. In all efforts, outreach to other countries is critical and we are seeing results. Dozens of countries have now taken action to restrict beijinglinked vendors from their 5g networks. We have seen stricter investment screening mechanisms in the e. U. Countries. 54 countries can together to deny the prc candidate to a top leadership position in an economic organization. More and more countries are taking action against confucius institute, united front organizations and propaganda outlets. We have really several joint statement on hong kong with allies and partners, many of whom have imposed export controls. We encourage all countries to push for transparency and reciprocity in relations with the prc, and to expose vectors of influence and interference, including by prc state media personnel, diplomats, peerreviewed researchers, state enterprise employees, and others. The United States continue to have an important relationship with the prc, as with many countries around the world. We are asking them to hold beijing accountable for its malign behavior and in the process to protect their own National Sovereignty, security and economic wellbeing. We are asking the International Community to join us in standing up for universal rights, in a rulebased system, providing for the worlds collective peace, security, and prosperity. We are making Great Strides and we deeply appreciate this committees support to our continued efforts. Thank you. Thank you, secretary stillwell. Tourwas certainly a good around the issues that we deal with here. There is a lot to unpack here, as your statement indicates. We will now turn to ambassador philip reeker who has led the bureau of european and asian 2013. S since in numerous posts throughout europe, including u. S. Ambassador to north macedonia, and consul general in milan. Ambassador reeker. Good morning chairman, Ranking Member and members of the committee. To my knowledge, this is the first time that the head of the European Bureau has testified at a hearing on chinese influence. ,nd i think this speaks itself in terms of underscoring the scope and scale of the challenge we face from the Chinese Communist party. Assistant secretary stillwell has done an excellent job laying out how the department is implementing the administrations strategy on china. I will focus my remarks on how we see the challenge in europe, what we are doing about it in coordination with our allies, and really why europe matters so much in an era of renewed strategic competition between major powers. Europe is home to most of americas closest and oldest allies. Its the largest export market for u. S. Goods and services. The United States and europe are each others primary source and destination for foreign direct investment. Together, the United States and the European Union account for over 40 of the worlds gdp. 3. 6 trillion in like russia, 2019. The Chinese Communist party has realized that the relationship is really the beating heart of the west. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the prcs designs for the future world order. Chinas global ambitions are simply not possible if the Transatlantic Alliance remains strong and united in opposing chinese authoritarian overtures. China does not necessarily seek new allies in europe. They prefer vassals not partners. The starting point of our with the europeans must be our shared values and basic conceptions about how governments ought to behave toward their citizens and the world. The u. S. And europe may sometimes disagree on specific policies or approaches, but we generally agree on fundamental concepts like the rule of law, transparent and accountable government, and basic human rights. The Chinese Communist party does not. We must think of europe not just in terms of what we can do together elsewhere in the world but as a theater of strategic , competition in its own right. Allies face maligned influence and pressure in their own countries that we must work with them to counter. Using platforms like the one belt, one road initiative, the Chinese Communist party and arista great dependencies and cultivate clientstate relationships. Through the 17 plus one initiative, china aims to achieve access and ownership over valuable transportation hubs, critical infrastructure, and industries. Over the last three years, we have seen an increased awareness in many European Countries. What secretary pompeo has referred to as a transatlantic awakening to the china challenge. U. S. Diplomats have been pounding the pavement, virtually or otherwise, throughout europe. And the tide has turned. Our substantial and successful diplomatic engagement contrasts sharply with the growing backlash we are seeing, caused by chinas heavyhanded masked diplomacy during the pandemic throughout europe. European audiences are getting to see first hand just how the ccp handles criticism and questions, and they dont like what they see. Our engagement is bearing fruit. Just to touch on a few highlights using authorities granted by legislation, members of this committee introduced the act, and theild European Energy diversification act. Weve been able to begin leveraging the new Development Finance corporation to try to catalyze key investments and strategic projects. Most notable, i would point to secretary pompeos pledge at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year of 1 billion, a commitment to the three cs initiative. In the czech republic, where pompeo visited last month, they have transformed from a target of chinese influence to a leader in the european awakening. Seven countries have signed bilateral memoranda of understanding with the United States on 5g security. The secretary signed the most recent one just yesterday, with lithuania. The foreign minister visiting here in washington. 15 european nations have adapted best practices from our own and other legislation as models to draft their own laws to protect their industries from malign Foreign Investment. As the foreign secretary and secretary pompeo discussed in their meeting here yesterday, the United Kingdom plans to secure its networks from huawei. France and germany both recently unveiled formal in the Pacific Strategies to reflect the changing consensus on the threat posed by china. And i am told that france, germany, and the u. K. , just this morning filed a joint note , rejecting chinas sweeping claims over the South China Sea. Nato has formally agreed to address the opportunities and challenges stemming from the Chinese Communist partys growing influence. The e. U. Has referred to the prc as a systemic rival and sweden recently closed the last of the confucius institutes present in that country. European nations are coming to the same conclusion we have about the nature of the threat to our values, our security, and our prosperity. They are doing so because they want to, not because we tell them to. Our role has been to share information, exchange experiences, and provide the support and encouragement necessary to empower them to make the right decisions. As we confront the growing china challenge in europe, we must not forget that europe is also the central focus of ongoing russian aggression and malign influence. Although chinas gdp is about eight times the size of russias, russia remains the primary military threat to europe and the strategic priority for morse of our allies and partners, particularly those in central and eastern europe. Russia and china are more closely aligned strategically than at any point since the 1950s. And we see growing cooperation of across a range of economic, military, economic, and information activities. Russia and china are not a monolithic block. There are certainly tensions and friction point in that relationship, but their growing strategic convergence is more than a simple marriage of convenience. Its based on a shared assessment of the threat the United States and our allies pose to their ambitions through our strength, prosperity, and values. This than i make is not going away anytime soon, and we must understand and account for it in our diplomacy and policies in this era of Great Power Competition in europe. Regardless of whether we are talking about competition against the Chinese Communist party or the kremlin or any other rival, our greatest advantage remains our system of alliances, particularly in europe. As the secretary of state has stated on many occasions, our allies need to shoulder the burden, and they are making progress in doing so. The fact remains that the United States has friends. The kremlin and the ccp do not. This is a fundamental and and during difference between us and them, between the democratic west and the authoritarian powers trying to divide us. The interest to support, the administrations efforts to support empower, and consult , our european allies are working. Progress is not always immediate with our allies on these issues sometimes leads andeart conversations choices, but having these conversations ensures we have an alliance and partnerships that are able to defend the shared Democratic Values and traditions that define the west and underpin the free world. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your questions. Thank you, ambassador reeker. We will now hear from our third witness. Julie chongs principal secretary in the bureau of western hemispheric affairs. She was previously the director for japan and the bureau of east asian and pacific affairs. Previously helped the station held the station as deputy chief at a mission in cambodia and the deputy political counselor in columbia. Principal deputy secretary chong , the floor is yours. Secretary chong members of the members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify about china in the western hemisphere today. This issue is one of our most pressing priorities, and one that requires close coordination with our neighbors, allies and our global partners. It also requires strong cooperation between the administration and congress, so i welcome your engagement and the chance to be with you today. Wethe western hemisphere, are implementing both the administrations National Security strategy and its vision for a free and open in the pacific. We have two strategic best for a free and open indo pacific. Have strategic objectives. Two reinforce our position as the regents partner of choice. Counter chinas maligned activities because they threaten the regions prosperity, security, sovereignty, and democracy. Today, secretary pompeo is on his way to countries in our hemisphere guyana, surinam, brazil and colombia, to reaffirm these values and partnerships. The United States and western a 1. 9ere enjoyed trillion trade in goods and services. And direct investment of 350 billion. In comparison, china has a 330 billiontrade and a 120 fti. Over the past decade, we have seen a dramatic increase in chinas engagement in the region. China has sought regional commodities, critical minerals, markets to fuel its growth. Chinese state hasnt owned enterprises are pushing latin american and caribbean countries to join its one belt, one road initiative. We have also seen an increase in questionable chinese loans for Infrastructure Projects. All of this is concerning because of the way china does business. Chinas corrosive capital and predatory lending undermine the rule of law and Good Governance. Regions hungry for Investment Funds find chinese loans attractive but the Sticker Price on these deals does not reflect their hidden costs. Chinas corrupt practices threaten the regions hardwon gains and the rule of law, labor rights, and the environment. Issues important to the citizens of the region. Challenge, ans important part of our approach is to share with our furnace information about the risk of doing business with china. We also aim to demonstrate that the u. S. And not allies and american businesses provide better alternatives when quality, transparency, and respect for National Sovereignty are taken into account. We are catalyzing Capacity Building andr capacity for the Regions Energy and infrastructure needs. Working with u. S. Companies and the interagency to enhance the regions competitiveness and revitalize its economy. Chinese engagement is particularly egregious in information and communication technology. You know that Companies Like huawei and zte have significant market share in the region already, and we are working with partners so that they understand the National Security and Human Rights Concerns about chinese vendors, many of which are state owned and controlled by the Chinese Communist party. These concerns speak to the sovereignty and human rights of the citizens in the region. 5g is still in its infancy. So we do have an opportunity to ensure our partners understand the risk of opening their data to chinese vendors. They also know the availability of trusted alternatives. We continue to draw attention to chinas fishing practices, that do not adhere to International Norms in our region and around the world. The massive chinese fishing fleet of over 300 ships near the galapagos this summer alarmed government. The Fishing Community and environmentalists alike. We are working with partners to increase cooperation and expand the capacity to detect and deter a regal and unregulated fishing. Support for democracy and human rights is a critical pillar of our engagement. We continue to support Civil Society, fight corruption, and boost investigative journalism, and strengthen oversight of human processes. Open and transparent government makes it harder for china to exploit our partners through bribery or unfair deals. Working with democratic partners from asia, including taiwan am a japan, and the republic of korea, is an important tool to raise awareness about china. The hemisphere is home to nine of taiwans 15 diplomatic partners. We maintain vigilance as china pressures these countries to flip recognition to beijing. Maintaining the status quo of taiwans dramatic relations and highlighting our shared Democratic Values, and showcasing taiwans regional engagement in partnership are our top rarities. Finally, our Public Diplomacy. Our top priorities. Finally, our Public Diplomacy, especially our people to people diplomacy advances the fourth , pillar of our strategy. A hemisphere that embraces democracy and views the u. S. As a valued partner in the region. We are forging relationships that will reduce the space for china to our programs showcase the innovation of the united face states and the power of the individual to make a difference in their community. Strengthening our relationships with Civil Society, businesses, and especially the youth. This is the time to strengthen academic and professional exchanges more than ever. So we remain wellpositioned for generations to come. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and for your support for our efforts. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. We are not going to do as advertised a five minute , questions. It will be done on seniority basis due to the fact that members are attending virtually. The first question i have, anyone can take a shot at this. If you can tell me what the new eu u. S. Dialogue on china that is coming down the pike. Where are we in the planning stages . What is estimated to be when the first dialogue will occur . Thanks. I kept this out of my spoken remarks. The high representative Vice President of the European Union proposed this dialogue. It was shortly after the secretary had joined the Foreign Affairs committee of the eu during the summer. We have spent the last couple months working out the parameters of this through our mission in brussels, through the eu mission in washington, and direct contact. We developed a set of pillars that we plan to focus on. Recovery from the pandemic, focusing on reciprocity steps, and resilience. How do we deal with supply chains and other things . Disinformation is a major topic that everyone has said we need to discuss. Of course, human rights. The europeans have suggested we include a discussion on International Organizations and chinese efforts to dominate those. And just share our experiences in dealing with china. The idea is to have a form where the idea is to have a forum where we can really review all aspects of the chinese presence in europe, globally, and how we deal with that. The secretary and plan to kick this off. We are looking for a date in the near future, trying to do scheduling. I think we are resigned to the fact that this may have to be virtual instead of in person, given the pandemic. And then we will go from there to other levels of engagement. The deputy secretary has also agreed to participate. Hes had a number of conversations with his counterpart at the eu. The political directors of all the eu Member States will gather and have this on their agenda at the end of the month. Under the german presidency. Thats an opportunity for the Member States to engage as well with the eu. We have to look at member state experiences as well as overall brussels approach. There are a number of i hope we can kick this off if not at the end of this month, then early next month. See this as a longterm project that engages in a formal structure several times a year and at working group levels as well so that we can really exchange ideas, experiences, and strategies Going Forward. Thank you. I dont think anyone would disagree that this will be a long haul project versus instant gratification. Senator menendez . Thank you. Deputy secretary, as you know, we introduced Bipartisan Legislation in the last month to strengthen u. S. Competitiveness in latin america and the caribbean and address chinas Economic Security and intelligence engagement. I believe our efforts are complementary. Department of state required to provide Technical Assistance to regional partners to help them safeguard their infrastructure from predatory Foreign Investment, similar to the committee for Foreign Investment in the United States. Can you tell me what initial steps have been carried out on this front . Thank you for your question. On investment screening, this is something that is a very important issue throughout the region and world. Thank you for the bill. We will consider the details of that and discuss with our staff for feedback regarding that bill. In terms of investment screening, we have extensive engagement in the region. We have been sending technical delegations to countries to explain how the processes work. We have help governments build out capacity through the initiative. We have 10 mous signed throughout the region. Thats part of the tools we use in addressing the issues that china is preaching to the china is bringing to the region. How do we ensure countries have the right practices in place and Regulatory Framework so that private Sector Companies want to come and invest in those countries . And ensure they have a level Playing Field. Thank you. The bill strengthens the dfcs engagement in latin america and authorizes additional eligibility for caribbean countries. Can you briefly outline how the administration prioritize engagement in the region . Thank you for the question. It has been a wonderful tool and resource we have been able to utilize now more than ever. From the former utilities, now expanding that on a broader base in latin america and the caribbean. It has already invested and has pledged to invest 12 billion in the western hemisphere alone. In Central America, 3 billion. Its already invested in Central America. In el salvador, an lng project. We are working strategically to ensure that these are strategic, that they have purpose, that they bring the right competitiveness and transparency to the region. It also requires a designation of a china engagement officer at western hemisphere embassies to report on chinas presence in the region. Can you outline the reporting officers you have in the region . Thank you. We do have one china officer, china regional officer in the western hemisphere. We just got approval to get three additional positions in the region. We are excited to be placing those positions in panama, or uruguay, and barbados. Every embassy in the western hemisphere has a China Working Group who does regular reporting through our channels. We coordinate all the messages throughout the western hemisphere in our monthly message. It requires the executive branch to provide regional partners with assistance on cybersecurity and cyber defense. Can you outline any efforts in that regard . On cyber issues, we have two very new initiatives that we took from the indo pacific that we are now launching in the western hemisphere. One is the dccp. Digital cybersecurity partnership. That was planned for the eap region. Realizing the important of 5g the importance of cybersecurity and 5g issues in the hemisphere, we launched this for the first time in our region. Initial investment of 10 million. This will provide cybersecurity training and best shared practices. Working with our partners to make sure they are aware of the cyber issues and have the right tools to address them. I appreciate your responses. It is good to see the bill and initiatives are mutually reinforcing. I look forward to working with the chairman to schedule a markup so we can have congressional support for some of these initiatives. Secretary sell well, secretary stillwell, as you know, authoritarian nations such as china and russia are utilizing emerging technologies in new ways to surveille and repress domestic and foreign populations as well as manipulate democratic elections. These countries are now spreading their models for digital authoritarianism to other countries who may be attracted to these new modes of social control. What the Administration Strategy to counter the spread of digital authoritarianism and the malign use of Digital Products and services in the indo pacific . As my colleague from the western hemisphere noted, the strategy is not limited to eap but it has been throughout, globally. We have been executing this effort to take down things like these are wellknown to us. We have been shining a light on these activities that would otherwise seem benign. They are in fact nefarious. The most recent is identifying apps, seemingly innocuous, tik tok and others. They are massive collection platforms for information used by the Chinese Communist party. Yesterday, new zealand discovered that their Prime Minister had been targeted by this. The strategy involves not just focusing on china itself but helping the world defend from these things. You may remember keith kroc and i confirmed together 18 months ago. He has been leading the way on many initiatives. The clean initiatives, youve heard that series already. That brings all of these ideas into one place. Hes uniquely qualified to talk about digital security. Im happy to hear from him. I was more focused on digital authoritarianism, the use of technology to try to control people and nations that seem to be following chinas lead and accepting chinas technology. I would love to hear from that for the record. As soon as you can. Thank you. Thank you. I think you hit on a really important issue on the cyber Matters Regarding control of massive groups of people. This is a technology that is right in the wheelhouse of those authoritarian countries that want to do that. I think thats really important. Thanks for that line of questioning. Im told senator johnson is with us virtually. Is that true . Apparently not. [laughter] the next one on my list is senator gardner. Hey, thank you very much for this. Thank you to the witnesses for testifying today. Weve obviously been working with our colleagues on efforts to shape new policy towards the indo pacific. China is the emerging global power that is challenging the United States in every domain. Military, economic, technological, ideological. China now intimidates countries across the globe, leverages economic largess to coerce large and small countries alike. It has embarked on initiatives to seek submission and domination of chinas made in 2025 policy have leveraged Cyber Espionage with the goal of dominating the global market. They built initiatives that cultivate economic dependence and threatens sovereignty. Beijings military Modernization Program is the most Rapid Military buildup in history, threatening the security of the most prosperous region of the world. It is more important than ever to ensure the United States maintains leadership, reaffirms alliances, bolsters economic links between the worlds advanced democracies, and promotes human rights and the rule of law. The administration and Congress Must be united on implementing a longterm strategy that will benefit the american National Security interests, american businesses, and create jobs and project American Values of freedom across the globe. This includes countering chinas influence from the indo pacific to europe to the western hemisphere. Maintaining a Strong Military that deters chinese coercion and expansionism. The u. S. Must pursue a strategy that secures u. S. Technological privacy and Economic Security in the coming decades. My Asia Reassurance Initiative act ensures that the United States government will speak with one voice to reassure our allies that we will continue to lead in the indo Pacific Region. As we recognize the increasingly Global Nature of this china, itswith more important than ever that we continue to lead the free and economic countries of the world. The first question i would ask, strategy,porates on coulding of this you talk about how this administration has implemented this to work with the allies to promote that network deficient division of Security Cooperation and counter chinese coercion . And talk a little bit about how can this strategy better be adopted by our allies throughout the region or other countries that may be hesitant to be caught up in a Great Power Competition . And how can we make sure the world is upholding a free and open region . Thank you for that. Its good to see you virtually. Its good to see you. The great part about all of this is that aria and much of the legislation comports quite well and meshes well with the indo pacific strategy. It tells the chinese that congress and the administration on both sides of the aisle are absolutely aligned on a large majority of these efforts. Executing this is much easier if we do it in networks, and groups. I can point out any number of examples in the region. Outside of the region as well. India has come on very strong in this regard. The concept of the indo pacific has incorporated india into the larger solution, getting the word out matters. Ive been encouraged by our colleagues in europe that have understood the threat, have come to act on it. You have seen positive activity out of chechnya. The minister said some very helpful things. A number of the folks in europe have come on strong in this regard. Its only going to continue. Thats because we are doing this as a group effort, not as a as the u. S. By itself. Not just the administration, its the entire government doing it. We welcome legislation like aria and all the cooperation between the administration and the congress. Thank you. Thank you. Beijing has been counterproductive and dangerous. The International Community and beijing are realizing that taiwan and china are on different trajectories and incompatible systems of governance and values. Building on bipartisan support in the u. S. Congress for taiwan and the taiwanese people, it expands taiwans links with the International Community and its presence in global organizations. You talked about that in your opening statement. How important is Something Like a bilateral trade agreement with taiwan . What are the economic benefits . Could we see progress on that in the coming weeks ahead . Thats a very important point. Keith kroc is in taiwan right now to celebrate the life and legacy of the former president. The relationship with taiwan. Our goal is to comply with the law. That law is the taiwan relations act. The travel act and the taipei act, all of these things make sure that we allow taiwan the International Space to deal with its larger neighbor to the west in a way that resolves their differences through dialogue and not through coercion. We mentioned picking off partners in the past. Not through coercion or use of force. Cooperation on things like arms sales and the rest is in line with all of our agreements and insurers that the issue between the mainland and taiwan is resolved peacefully. Thanks. How my doing on time . Not so good. [laughter] thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. We appreciate that. Senator garden is somewhere out there in cyberspace. Am my right . Im right here. Thank you very much. I thank all of our witnesses. This is a critically important hearing. China presents so many challenges to the United States via human rights issues where they violate the rights of their own citizens. There are many examples that are of great concern to us. They violated their agreement in regards to hong kong, one country two systems. Ive joined with senator rubio and others in a bipartisan effort to make it clear that there will be consequences for that violation of international agreements. They represent direct security threats in what they are doing in the china sea. They are always raising issue as to the security of taiwan. The list goes on and on. I want to use my time to follow up on our own hemisphere. As the ranking democrat on the western hemisphere talk about chinas influence in our own hemisphere. I will followup on the points that senator menendez made during his opening statement, during his questioning. The United States should have a strategic advantage over china in our hemisphere. We have historic ties. We have cultural, geographical ties. We have a history. We are the preferred partner. However, we have seen some really Disturbing Trends in recent years. The bell road initiative, 19 latin american and caribbean nations have entered into economic agreements with china. We look at the health front. Result with covid19 vaccines. We look at the community of latin american and caribbean nations. They have entered into a fiveyear cooperative agreement with china. We know that china wants to use its economic power to undermine our Economic System so that they determine the rules of International Engagement rather than economy such as the United States. We have joined in a bipartisan effort. The United States is advancing competitiveness and transparency, security and the america act. Weve all joined together. My question to secretary chong, what can we do . What are we doing now . Recognizing that china has made unprecedented inroads in our own hemisphere to shore up economic ties. How can you work with congress to make it clear that this is a u. S. Effort and there is no division and our commitment to have closer ties with the countries in our own hemisphere. Thank you for your question. In terms of the covid era, weve see china deliver mass ppe. Some of it faulty. Some of it had to be returned. Can we trust what china delivers . We provided over 20 billion globally for the covid effort. 140 million in the hemisphere. 3000 ventilators. Beyond the immediate donations which address the immediate needs, we are looking further down the road. How do we help in the economic recovery effort . When you talk about whole of government effort, the growth of the American Initiative comes in. We want to help these countries because we expect in 2020, a gdp decline of 9 due to ongoing issues. How do we help them recover in a way that is transparent and long lasting and sustainable . Through the initiative, we bring a whole of government together. We are forming new relationships through investment agreements, through further discussions on how we develop the trade frameworks within these countries, so we can have longlasting relationships and Economic Growth beyond the immediate needs of the covid pandemic. Let me make two other suggestions that may help in this area. One is the u. S. Precipitation in the oas. In our committee, we pass legislation that would strengthen the parliamentary role within the oas to make it clear that this is an organization that we can better utilize to improve americas influence in our own hemisphere. We are members of the osc. Our participation there has made a much stronger relationship between europe and the United States on the basic principles of our nation. I think we can do the same within oas. I dont to get has been used as effectively as we need to. The second point, a response to both, is the caribbean nations. There are many caribbean nations that are relatively small. It doesnt take a lot of attention to make sure that we have their support on the Global Community within the United Nations and in our own hemisphere. We found within oas, we did not get the type of support we wanted from the caribbean states. It doesnt take a lot of attention. China is giving them that attention and the United States is not. I would urge us to recognize that we can do a lot more with relatively small amount of funds in some of these small island states. Your response . Thank you. We have seen it as a Multilateral Institution that actually works. We have engaged, revived the ability of the members to speak up against the antidemocratic forces in venezuela, cuba, and nicaragua. Another way we are trying to utilize it is to provide space for taiwan. Last year, we had a humanitarian assistance conference for venezuela. We were able to get taiwan ahead of the tech growth to come deliver a remark at the hall of the oas and announced a 500,000 donation to the venezuelan human humanitarian effort. Thats unprecedented. The have taiwan be there. That made our friends in beijing very unhappy. We are trying to provide that space for taiwan as well as other democratic actors in the region. Another area we provided that is through the Interamerican Development bank. This is where china provides 0. 004 of contributions. Last year, china tried to demand that when it hosted the meeting in chengdu that juan guaidos representative would not be welcome and taiwans representative would not be welcome. The region pushed back on chinas attempt to try to create its own rules and regulations in an international body. It was rejected. The meeting was not held in sean in chengdu. It was held in ecuador. We can use a Multilateral Organization space to Work Together with our allies to speak up. In terms of the caribbean, secretary pompeo is in the caribbean today. Two countries that helped that held successful democratic elections. Our longlasting relationship with the caribbean. Last year we invited all of the caribbean members to a resilience conference to talk about other countries can Work Together with the United States to combat disaster resiliency in the face of hurricanes. We continue to engage the caribbean. In addition to that, the caribbean is home to four countries that have diplomatic relations with taiwan. We continue to reinforce those relationships. Taiwan is closely monitoring and enhancing their relationships with those countries as well. In recognition that beijing is constantly trying to flip those countries. Thank you. We will now move to senator romney, who is supposed to be with us virtually also. I am with you virtually. Thank you. I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to the members of the panel for the work you are doing. I think its the most important work thats going on in our government. I think the issue of our decade will be how to deal with the emergence of china as a great power. They would hope to become the greatest and only great power. I salute your work. I want to underscore a few things i think we know. We know that chinas gdp will surpass our own by a lot, given the size of their population. We know at this stage, their procurement is pretty close to equal ours military procurement. In the future with a greater economy, they will be able to out invest us in terms of procurement. Geopolitically they are rising and we are not. They are lining up people to support them, people who have not supported them are now coming into their side. Thats because they see where the power goes. Friends often go where they believe their interest will be best protected. As china becomes stronger, we may find that they are able to collect something which theyve never had before. Friends. I think President Trump was right to confront china and push pack against their trade practices. I think he made a mistake by not doing so in collaboration with our allies and being able to have more clout pushing against them. Secretary pompeo was right to have spoken so forcefully to awaken our allies to the threat posed by china. And to encourage a collaboration with them. I would note that many of us have very great concerns about the human rights abuses going on in china. The outrageous treatment of minorities, people of religious faith, people of hong kong. It is simply extraordinary. We see their activities in the South China Sea with great alarm. Its my own view that its very unlikely that they will change these practices in a very significant way until they feel pain. The only pain that we will be able to exert other than words and people decrying them would be economic pain. The question i would ask with regards to our panel, are our allies and other nations that follow the rule of law, are they poised to combine and develop a collaborative trade policy which exert such pressure on china that they will be diverted from the course they are on and with come pouring ting with the International Order . It encapsulates my entire time in this job. Success we have seen in this regard in getting others to find their voice, i mentioned europeans of late after the not so successful tour have begun to acknowledge the problem. China uses economic clout as a to do to force countries things that are not in their own interests. In way many portray this Great Power Competition is the simple act of talking about it. Transparency. Inside the prc is clogged. It is one way. Those who speak out are oftentimes squelched. That is because the government fears transparency. Is aentify that this values issue. They are using slave it slave labor to produce things we appreciate in the west. Those of us in the free world are smart enough to take economic actions to address this sort of behavior. You have linkages between economic interests and values thethe United States, president and secretary pompeo, have been vocal. Companies leaving china. Arrest reporters or threaten to because of something happening in australia, you have no australian reporters in the prc. Businesses are going to feel the same thing. You say38 says if anything derogatory about the government, you are subject to arrest. All these things work against that juggernaut of this inevitability of chinese domination of the global economy. At the same time, we are seeing great work collaboration on the economic side in japan. Tsmc, the worlds greatest chip manufacturer is looking to creatingnto arizona, american jobs. I do not think it is as inevitable as they would make it sound. The u. S. Has been able to develop collaboration in the east asia Pacific Regions and elsewhere as everyone recognizes the threat. Thank you. Quick thank you, mr. Secretary. I want to underscore the a collaborative basis to confront china. Thank you. Attending via us the internet, put a clock in front of you for the five minutes. We have heavy attendance. Everybody wants a shot at this. If thoseppreciate it of you who are not here with a clock in front of you, if you would have your staff or someone taking keeping track of that, all of us would appreciate that. Collects thank you to each of our panelists for being here. We appreciate your insights. As you all and my colleagues have said, china represents a threat to the United States economically and militarily. Governanced circumstances in the western balkans make that region particularly appealing for china. Can you talk about what we are doing . What is our strategy to address china in the western balkans . Thank you, senator. It is always a pleasure for me to discuss the western balkans. I knew that. We have seen Great Development there. As we have discussed across the panel today, china poses a threat in that region as well. They seek to divide these small countries from their western orientation. But we have, as we do with all of europe, been engaging to make them aware of the threat and the challenge. The problems with chinese debt diplomacy, we focus on reciprocity and resilience, and for us in the western balkans, as you are keenly aware, we focus on helping all those countries expand their western orientation. We see Great Success in northern macedonia of becoming, in spite of the virus, the newest member of nato. Prosperity begins with security, expanding the nato and allens alliance has been a very positive step. Tos initiative provide alternatives in a northsouth direction for trade and infrastructure, we have stepped in to support the three cs, not as a member, but as an interested partner. Theetary pompeo outlined Development Finance corporation is offering up to 1 billion in matching Investment Funds for opportunities throughout that region. We continue to engage with them. You have seen the Great Strides made between serbia and kosovo in their longterm problem which has hindered the whole region by focusing on the economic side. Through the great efforts of the white house and the special president ial envoy, bringing leaders together not to tackle the most difficult issues of recognition, but focusing on things they can do to normalize economic relations between serbia and kosovo. That has given us new opportunities as well. Interrupt. Y to perhaps the assistant secretary would like to weighin on this. Serbia has actually become a key partner for china and actually has opened an innovation section with huawei. Do we have a strategy for addressing serbia and other countries interest in partnering with china on huawei and those investments china might be making . Yes we do. U. K. At the work with the and helping them understand the downside of the National Security risk. These decisions are made in a nontransparent way by incentives, call it bribes, with the leadership of these countries to make decisions not in the interest of their own people. We have focused heavily on making these sorts of transactions more transparent. What specifically has been our success in serbia . Have we been able to get the serbs to help us with the transparency piece . I think it is a work in progress, senator. The more we can build our relationship with serbia and help them understand that we are open to their interest in being more part of the west, they will come to see the same thing other European Countries are realizing. Who are the partners they can rely on . What our trusted vendors in terms of developing hightech infrastructure . The 5g proposals for instance, which set out parameters for dealing with hightech. The European Union has developed its own security toolbox. Serbia keeps an eye on these things. We need to let them come to that realization, that there are options. As we talk about trust and reliance, what kind of challenge does it present for our partners in europe when we do things like remove troops from germany without consulting with our partners before making a decision . Does that undermine our reliability with our partners . What does that say about our ability to get cooperation when we are combating china . I spent somew, time at european command prior to this job. Theere already focused on challenges outlined in the National Security strategy. Great power competition, including china. The real message we have sent to partners is evident in the december 2019 nato leaders statement out of london, where we declared for the first time that nato should address opportunities and challenges of sina stemming from the poc growing influence. I think we have got this and we are getting it right, eastern , enhanced forward presence, things we did in response to russian threats, direct existential threats, we need to look at the broader range of threats like cyber and hybrid, china being very much a part of that. That is what we are doing collaboratively. Certainly you have seen the progress on burden sharing and resources. I think some of the steps we are posture aree force positive developments that reflect these more contemporary concerns we have. Amount of times what will not ask you the followup i am out of time, so i will not ask you about the followup, but i am not sure i got an answer to my question about germany. Thank you. Senator portman. Certainly desperately not. Senator paul. Senator young. Mr. Chairman. And who is that . This is senator young. We can hear you loud and clear. The floor is yours for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Building on my colleagues senator cartmans questions earlier, the administration has warned latin america and caribbean countries that chinas Economic Engagement with the region may foster corruption and lead to unsustainable debt traps as we have seen around the world. ,ow have government officials private sector leaders, and Civil Society groups responded to those accusations . Thank you for your question. China not only uses debt diplomacy and poor quality infrastructure, but we see their investments hurting the environment. Also getting the voices out from local partners, local ngos, local journalists, youth groups. That is where we see the power. When we have the region speaking out for themselves about some of the concerns china brings to the region. One example is ecuador. Dam. Hinese funded a that dam has 7000 cracks and it is growing every day. It has killed workers. It has displaced people, put people out of jobs. Because of its corrupt nature, it has put people in jail. People have seen throughout the world the dangers of what chinese investments can bring. At first, low prices, great terms. The hidden costs are what people are understanding. Countries and governments are more aware of these dangers than ever. And taking a more cautious approach. Doing more due diligence. It is the government that will decide whether or not to take such deals. The more we have societies and others speak out and see the ramifications beyond economics, to the environment, labor laws, society overall, that understanding and that knowledge is growing. That seems to be the key, whether it is bilateral negotiations and diplomatic relations or when we work through the imf and other Multilateral Institutions, the extent we can bring transparency to a lot of these decisions made that oftentimes leads to positive results. How is the Administration Using the Development Finance corporation and other forms of foreign assistance and incentives to strengthen u. S. Partnerships and counter chinese influence in the region . Thank you for the question, senator. Dfc is a powerful tool we have and think more about our partners. Dfc announced that they would work in partnership with taiwan to provide funding, financing from the covid recovery. This was just announced. Im sorry. I regret i said in the region. But in latin america, in the caribbean countries. Are these tools, these instruments of diplomatic and developmental power being brought to bear in that region . Yes, and that is the importance of what my point is. Taiwan and the United States are working together in latin america. They announced financing to provide sme loan support for latin america, Central American region. That is one example of where we are providing that into the region. There is a 26 billion loan to provide Telecom Towers in peru and ecuador. This addresses our Strategic Interests as well as the 5g telecommunications interest where china is trying to take over and control that sector. And then working with others to countries in the region have the right tools to do you diligence. Due diligence. Region, the caribbean and latin america, that whole basin, is really instrumental countering china. You have nine of taiwans diplomat partners located in the caribbean basin region. For your efforts and those of your entire team to ensure taiwan has the wherewithal to counter chinese nefarious activities. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, i yield back. Thank you for this important hearing and thank you tour witnesses. Greatest Foreign Policy challenge of the United States today. How we engage with china will shape the sensory the century, our place in the world. We are better equipped to compete with china if we work closely with our allies and partners around the world. Who share not just our interests, but our values. I want to commend senator menendez and others for the crafting and introduction of the bill. So ive been trying senator young, you are still with us. Condemn theto introduction of a bill that recognizes the significance of ,he centrality of latin america integral to our countrys culture, our economy, our role in the world. Chinas efforts to replace our relationships in this region are concerning, even alarming. There are positives. We have talked about the dfc. The good news is in every region we want to see more of this powerful tool that can help advance transparency, american engagement. Waysf my real concerns is in which the Trump Administration has enabled chinas growing influence by threatening and in some cases succeeding in abruptly withdrawing troops or withdrawing us from International Organizations. Let me ask questions designed to get some clarity around that. To put a point on that, the Administration Reportedly weighe d withdrawing troops from south korea, a move that garnered bipartisan concern. Can you assure us the administration is no longer considering a withdrawal of troops from south korea and that if any such changes were made, it would not happen without close consultation with our allies and partners as well as with congress . Thank you, senator. These issues all require cooperation, so agreed. And but there in theiscussion about state department. Thank you. I respect and recognize that the administration is being forward leaning in engagement with taiwan. We are in a moment of great regional challenge. Im wondering whether, as some commentators have suggested, there is consideration of ending strategic ambiguity and clarifying our commitment to taiwan. And if there were to be a public change in the position, there would be consultation for that decision. That is a very good decision very good question. It has been publicly discussed. I gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation on clarifying the assurances. The rationale behind that is to p. R. C. snd reverse squeezing of taiwans International Space and get it back into a position that looks like what we agreed to in 1979. That clarification is important. However, this was not a change of strategy or policy. It was simply reversing what we off seen as far as picking taiwan partners, keeping taiwan from attending the world health assembly, which, the one place that figured out corona first and understood it best were the people that could have helped out had they been allowed to participate. Any number of other multilateral activities taiwan is allowed to participate in meaningfully, we are working hard to clarify that. Dfc beingtioned the on track to deploy 12 billion in financing to Central America and the caribbean. Ids me how state and usa are coordinating. Opec was a piece of the developing strategy. Pfc has a broader range of resources in reach. If we are to use the dfc to advance our values in terms of transparency and higher labor standards, there also has to be internally coordination with the usaid. Do you see any role for the dfc and for our presence in the region to directly combat digital authoritarianism and strengthen Civil Society as is urged in the Bipartisan Legislation that was referenced earlier by the Ranking Member . Thank you for the question. In terms of usaid, we are in lockstep on our china strategy. Through the interagency effort, but also through usaids clear choice of framework that looks at governments that make sure procurement and Civil Society are involved in the transparency efforts and to bring those efforts to life when we hear about the opec deal from china or any other country. We are working closely looking at usaids programs to make sure we are closely aligned. The programs we do on anticorruption and Civil Society is strengthening all go to that space, so that chinas malign influence dont take over that space. We are closely aligned with usaid. One example is in illegal fishing. Usaid has programs with the World Wildlife fund to work on National Resource strengthening programs. That enables local groups to fight back when you see chinese fishing ships come back to the region. In terms of digital authoritarianism, there is no better example in the region authoritarian regime and working in close concert with china. Has long had a relationship with the maduro regime, which spies on Civil Society and opposition leaders and determines who gets what food allocations within that country. Inht now we are not engaging dfc, but in a democratic future when we have a transition in that country, we would love to bring dfc in to it and help rebuild. Senator cruz. Cruz thank you mr. Chairman. Welcome to each of you. The deputys ago, secretary testified before this committee and we talked about reviewing the Obama Administrations 2015 guidelines for diplomatic relations with taiwan, which prohibit our partners from displaying their flags and insignia. As you know, i have filed legislation to change those guidelines. The state department does not need that legislation to change the obama guidelines. The administration could make those changes right now. Begin said hery as you know in written followup he said changing the guidelines with the intention with the taiwan relations act, that is a curious statutory interpretation. An odd position for the state department to take. As far as i can see there is nothing in the dra that requires these guidelines. Rather, it is a policy decision to be made by the administration. Tra in your judgment in the justifies preventing our taiwanese allies from displaying their sovereign symbols . This have been discussing concept with respect to taiwan and, i mentioned earlier, the speech we gave at heritage that helps to clarify those things that need clarification, as you said just right now, with this issue. One of the issues in the tra that speaks to this is the decision to leave the question of sovereignty undecided, ambiguous. We will not take a position on sovereignty. This is part of the back and forth between the mainland and taiwan. What the taiwan relations act and the Administration Policy wants is for this to be resolved peacefully and for there to be dialogue, not with coercion or use of force. The question of sovereignty was to be left out and worked out between the two parties. Cruz are you testifying the taiwan relations act mandates the guidelines . The guidelines follow from the taiwan relations act. They did not exist prior to 2015. The reason they were enacted was because the taiwanese raised their flag over the twin oaks estate in d. C. And the Chinese Government got mad. The Obama State Department decided to kiss up to china and change the rules and appease them. But prior to 2015 there were no guidelines. Prior to 2015 taiwanese military officials were allowed to wear military insignia. That did not magically change. The statute did not change, did it . The broad sweep of the y moneys the taiwanese relations act did not change. Violation wasnt in of that statute when military officials were wearing insignia prior to the guidelines . I would simply say that on the question of sovereignty, and these are all related, leaving two decision between those the interpretation is leave that decision undecided. Goneadministration has very far in reversing all of those decisions that have been made in the past, to clarify. You saw the secretary of health and Human Services attended. And the the secretary state department in taiwan right now. What we are doing is definitely in alignment with your interest as well, to support taiwan and abilitye they have the to resist coercion by the chinese. Sen. Cruz i do not disagree that policy has improved under this administration. It is not surprising to me these guidelines were issued under the Obama Administration and the leadership of secretary of state john kerry. Their policy decision was far and entail far more appeasement to the Chinese Communists than the Trump Administration. These policy guidelines are utterly inappropriate in my view. , for a Trump Administration or for a department of state led by mike pompeo. They are not consistent with the stated policy positions of the principles. It is a matter of discretion. Your argument that the statute mandates it is not a good faith argument. And so, i would urge state to revisit this issue. Because you have the ability to change these guidelines right now. It was the Obama Administration that made them up and it did so at the behest of the Chinese Communists and if you can make them up to make the Chinese Communists happy, you can repeal them to make the Chinese Communists unhappy. And i get that the Chinese Communists would be unhappy. I view that as a feature, not a bug. Chung, as you know, there is broad concern over chinas predatory investments in latin america alongside separate, but related concerns about how china dominates important industries, including the critical mineral supply chain. Ive introduced legislation that would onshore the supply chain for such minerals. But of course, the concern over chinas control is global. In latin america and beyond, china has sought to dominate the Global Supply of lithium. They currently control half the Global Production of lithium and 50 of the battery production capacity. Bolivia, chile and notice, the lithium triangle, have 70 of the worlds lithium reserves, and china has been pouring resources into the region. What steps are we talking to help these countries protect their Natural Resources and to ensure that they dont fall victim to chinese predatory practices . Chung thank you for the question, senator. As you state, the lithium triangle in south america is a critical area where the chinese are heavily interested in maintaining imports from that area. The variousng to governments about proper measures due process, cfiuslike. Nvestments investment screening measures before signing deals with any other country. These are steps that we are having active discussions with. We have a critical working group. Both of us are keenly aware of sensitivities of supply chain and working more with the industry themselves. We are building up these discussions, but this is of critical interest to us. Thank you, senator cruz. Senator murphy. Sen. Murphy thank you, very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you to all three for your service. It is hard to overestimate the value of the gift we have handed china through this administrations mismanagement of americas covid19 outbreak. First, it bolsters chinas argument that autocratic or semiautocratic forms of government complete with the set nearby beijing are more effective at me modern threats than democracy. When a democracy cannot get this epidemic under control after half a year, when a not talk us he under control in a matter of months, they believe that that strengthens their argument. Our failure has given china this massive head start in the contest for Global Economic influence. Chinas gdp contracted by 6 in the First Quarter and expanded by 3 in the second quarter. Hours contracted by 3 in the First Quarter and contracted by 34 in the second quarter. And it is not just that autocratic government were able to get this under control. South korea didnt have a 34 contraction in the second quarter, they had a 2 contraction, so it is not that democracies are unable to get covid under control, but our failure to do so is the worlds most notable and leading democracy, it strengthens chinas argument that countries should follow their model and has handcuffed our economy. I mean, our Business Leaders cant even travel around the world because america is the sick child today. We have compounded that error by withdrawing from the w. H. O. In latin america, those countries are relying on china, not the United States in order , to help them deal with covid19. China made a 2 billion commitment. News just earlier this month that state department detailees will be removed from w. H. O. Regional and field offices all over the world. One of chinas preeminent defense planners at a conference in 2018 hailed trumps America First strategy, saying, and i quote, as the u. S. Retreats globally, china shows up. So my question is this, for the panel, and it would love your thoughts, you may contest the premise of my question how has the United Statess failure to control covid strengthened chinas hand, and how has our withdrawal from the w. H. O. Alone for china to gain prominence on issues of Global Health . Senator, that is a fantastic question. I appreciate the chance to lay out some of the thought process that went behind this. I think in large part there are a couple key failures here. One is the failure of china to control what started off as a simple Public Health problem. And when they did control it in the town of wuhan, where we have a cause of it, they did it a very inhumane and heavyhanded tactics. They welded people into their homes. They rounded them up if they were sick and pretty much isolated them against their will. They separated parents from their specialneeds children and those children died from exposure because they were left. So that is certainly a model for dealing with this that i dont think any american would tolerate. Secondly, we are the Third Largest country in the world. We had 22,000 people coming from china for at least three weeks after the chinese knew this was a problem. And we were the first to close our borders to china and then to others on the 31st of january, to deal with us. Third, if you look at the numbers originally, we did not put our numbers out per capita. Such a large country, when you compared or numbers to belgium, germany and others, they looked worse. In fact, her cap better, we are better. Fourth, we are not an island. In fact, per capita, we are better. Fourth, we are not an island. Countries who have done so well , like china and new zealand, are able to cut themselves off. But they also are able to cut themselves off from commerce, travel, tourism, and all the rest, and those countries now , particularly in the pacific are having a very hard time , economically as the disease eventually will make its way into their countries. So, as you know, this whole problem began with the chinese worlde to deal with its Health Organization requirements through the regulations to report these things. Secondly, their intrusion into Multilateral Organizations like the u. N. And the w. H. O. Had the w. H. O. Leadership to interrogatory it is ok. I can give you documentation as late as february that they were saying, dont overreact to this. There is no human to human transmission when in fact, there was. The u. S. Contributes 400 million to 500 million a year to the w. H. O. The chinese contribute around 40 million. I appreciate your answer and the fact that you got to hold the line here of the administration, but the failure to acknowledge that we have done great damage to americas reputation in the world by not being able to control this virus in a way that plenty of other democracies were able to i think speaks to a real blind spot. Lets just remember, it was the president of the United States who was the greatest cheerleader for chinas response to covid in january, february, march, and april. There was no one who was standing up more vocally for chinas transparent and Effective Response than this president. That made it hard for a lot of people to get tough on china when the leader of the free world refused to do so. I hope we can have a little bit more of a nuanced discussion about the effects of our failure on covid and its impact on our ability to influence events around the world. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Senator, are you with us . Kaine. Go to senator his senator kaine with us . Is senator kaine with us . Deador merkley, you are of [indiscernible] oh, there you are, senator portman. Thank you very much. Senator portman, i guess you are here on seniority. I guess we will go to senator portman, then to you, senator merkley. Senator portman, you are up. Sen. Portman thank you, senator risch. Can you hear me ok . Sen. Risch i can hear you now. Sen. Portman first of all, i appreciate you having the hearing. Ive enjoyed listening to our witnesses and hearing your and senator menendezs opening comments. I have a question for each of the witnesses just quickly if we could, we have so many challenges with china, and as former u. S. Trade representative, we have a bank and into some of the details, the trade challenges we have had. You can talk about the human rights challenges, we have talked about the challenge to our technology and innovation, but each of the witnesses, very quickly, how would you describe our relationship with china, and specifically, would you consider china to be an adversary, a . Lobal competitor, an enemy how would you describe china today in relation to its relationship to the United States . Sen. Risch mr. Stillwell, why dont we start with you . Mr. Stillwell i can answer that quickly. The prc refers to the United States as the enemy. They have been doing that since 1950. In 2012, the headline of the peoples daily, one of their communist Party Members in the chinese consulate in the headline was the comrade defected to the enemy. If you look at the differences in approaches and attitudes toward each other, you can see that the approach of the Trump Administration was long overdue. We are not using the word enemy. We are simply competing. In simply competing, we are having great effect in normalizing chinese behavior in the United States. Its adverse behavior in the United States and elsewhere in the world, and the number of folks who are coming in to support readily and strongly from these two regions and all others is growing as people recognize that the economic threats, you dont have to bow to those, you can stand up for. Our own sovereignty, thank you i would echo the term strategic competitor as we describe it, certainly in the National Security strategy, but to point out that in europe, we see this as the prc trying to establish their own strategic foothold and indeed promote an authoritarian model of governance and statecontrolled economy and challenge u. S. National security by weakening our political and economic and military ties. Indeed, over the last 12 years, the prc gained increasing influence over european markets and supply chains, something the europeans, particularly since covid, in focusing on in terms of resilience and working with us on that. The 2008 financial crisis really exposed that, where the prc came in with lots of cash and targeted investment strategies, strategic industries, and critical infrastructure, including ports and other things. We have seen a sea change to million the last three years, this awakening that secretary pompeo has talked about, due to our own realization of chinas longterm strategy, sharing that with our European Partners and allies including that nato, where we officially put into natos doctrine Going Forward to look at the challenges and opportunities of the prc as a strategic competitor. And you have seen the europeans adopt investment screening mechanisms at the national level, the e. U. Itself adopting for instance, cyber sanctions, they had their first designation of a chinese entity under their cyber section regulation. Thank you. Let me get to another question. I appreciate the hard work that you are doing Healthy People look up to the challenge. Having been in europe precovid to talk about these challenges, they do need to wake up. Cfiusntioned this i the type screenings. They are looking to us to understand how to screen investments. In terms of the challenges we face, the answer is to work with others and require china to do certain things and impose on china some additional level the Playing Field fairness and so on. Sometimes they have done things by subsidizing or filling the low cost. A more productive approach to china would be getting our own house in order. Competitive would be the most competitiveness would be the most obvious examples. Another is, how do you safeguard American Intellectual property, American Innovation, american taxpayerpaid research . We have the safeguarding American Innovation act that comes out of a yearlong investigation into this issue that was able to expose but really for two decades, china has been targeting american usually,rs, taxpayerpaid research, systematically taken that research to china. Since we came out with a report and we had a shocking hearing on this topic about what has happened the fbi, department of justice, u. S. Attorneys have stepped up and they have made public arrests of chinese researchers, who have taken u. S. Paid research and taken it to china to help the chinese economy and chinese military. That legislation we are trying to get passed on the floor now. It is not only the result, it has also been reported and i will tell you, we are now told that the fbis opening a new chinarelated investigation every 10 hours, with about 2500 of them Country Intelligence investigations across the country that is public information. We know more in classified settings we can talk about the point is our American Research organization has been going out the door, particularly to china, other countries as well, but china is the main perpetrator. My point is, we have things we have to do internally to tighten up. This is not about telling china what they have to do, frankly, filling our universities, Research Institutions and federal agencies like the n. I. H. , department of energy and others. They have to tighten up. Tighten of visa requirements. We need a way to help the state department be able to screen. Anynder if you have comments on the safeguarding the American Innovation act and the need to get your own house in order here, to be a but to protect taxpayerpaid research and be more competitive in an increasingly difficult climate with china. You saw the closure of the houston consulate, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the things we are doing that aligns nicely with what you are saying. Thank you. Senator portman, we are really short on time here. If you have some additional sen. Portman thank you for the time. That would be the way to do it, son the question for the record and i have no doubt the witnesses will respond promptly and appropriately. Thank you so much. For the information of the committee, weve got a couple people yet to ask questions and time is up on the vote. We have two votes. I am going to try to stall the floor as long as i can until they send somebody up to arrest us. In the meantime, senator merkley , why dont you and sen. Merkley thank you, mr. Chairman. I will ask our team to be as brief as we can so that we can get to the other senators who have not been able to ask questions. Deputy chung, there has been a lot of questions of strategic ambiguity in regard to taiwan. An article by the president of the council of Foreign Relations, said it is time to put an end to strategic ambiguity, that it has run its course. This is in the context of whether we would defend taiwan if it was attacked. Others have said, no, that would be a big mistake, you might encourage an attack, but we should have a much stronger, clearer, wellcoordinated vision position with the rest of the developed world in terms of the economic sanctions that would occur, perhaps including closing to chinesees products, which would be devastating to china if they were to attack. Others have said, no, lets just keep encouraging their participation in international organization, that is enough. Where are you on the spectrum . Thank you for the question. Our relationship with taiwan and the western hemisphere has been unprecedented in the last two years. Dont give me the whole history because we are short on time. Where you are on the spectrum of strategic ambiguity and the tools we have. We are clear on partnering with taiwan. We have had nine of the countries recognized, but seven additional countries in the region that have trade offices. We want to enhance our relationship and build upon this partnership with taiwan. We are doing more bilaterally, more joint financing, and certainly more partnerships like the global framework to build out what we can do together with taiwan. So much more forthright in , public about our partnerships in the western hemisphere. Share the concern that the growing military capacities of china and the growing adventurism of president xi make this an important topic for us to keep thinking about . Chung globally, that is true. The western hemisphere, we are looking at all action china is doing in the region. Thank you so much. Mr. Reeker, china is financing a quarter of the coal projects around the world, either financing them or offering to finance them. Including countries like bosniahas he bosniaherzegovina. Are we working to provide financing for cleaner Energy Strategies as we see the impacts of what is happening here in the United States with the hurricane intensity and the fire intensity . I mentioned earlier the three cs initiative, which includes some of the countries you have mentioned, bosniaherzegovina, for example. A lot of what the initiative is designed to develop our new, modern infrastructures, including energy infrastructure. The dfc, secretary pompeo announced, has put forward up to a billion dollars in matching unit so is this a yes, that we are trying to discourage chinese sale of coal plants around the world . We are certainly trying to be these countries options for not taking chinese debt diplomacy and other engagements. Thank you. Assistant secretary stillwell, it worries me that the administration has not renewed j1 visas for International Journalists employed by the global media. They often shine a light on dangerous issues are on the road, and this includes the challenge of chinese journalists who may be sent home to china, and we know what happens when people are in disfavor back home. Should we Work Together to renew those visas for these folks who are working in partnership with us, who may be at risk if exported back home deported . That is a couple get a question. I will note that the prcs using of its media which is a state owned organization, and claiming that they are journalists, and dangers everybody. And dangers all chinese folks ndangers everybody, it endangers all chinese folks who are trying to do good journalism. The administration has taken steps to rectify that by addressing the issue. Why is it complicated . These folks are working for us, they are being employed by us, they are helping shine a light on home countries in often unfavorable ways. It puts them at enormous risk if they are returned home. Why is it complicated . I wouldnt we protect them after they have worked in partnership with us. Senator, i will have to get back to you on that one. I look forward to that. I dont think it has gotten attention and it places people at grave risk. Finally, mr. Reeker, there is a lot of pressure that china is putting on countries, using is economic clout not to be critical of their enslavement of a uyghurs. Millionthat pressure includes pressure on the organization of. Slamic corporation those countries were quite vocal about the impact of the rohingya in burma, but they have been cowed about commenting on of the the treatment of one million muslims enslaved in china. Are we working with the oic to give them the strength to speak up on human rights, including the abuses in china . Thanks for highlighting that. My bureau does not work with the oic directly, but we do work with our European Partners. Raab was, when dominic here from britain, we highlighted very much in conversation with secretary pompeo the horrors of the repression in xinjiang. Are the europeans joining us in this effort . We have seen a lot of outspoken statements from our partners, not only on xinjiang, but also Human Rights Violations in hong kong, and we see that in a number of fora. It would be good if the islamic world spoke up. Did disney make a mistake by working in close cooperation with the Regional Government in china that is enslaving the uyghurs . I am not familiar with disney in this capacity. The filming of the film mulan. Im not familiar ok, thank you. Thank you, senator, for that. I am told there is no one else on the line. Senator, did you want the floor for half a second. Briefly, i have a series of questions i will submit for the record, on chinas fishing off ecuador and what that means in the World Heritage site, and a few others. I would appreciate substantive responses to them, thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. The record will remain open until the close of business on friday. We ask witnesses to respond as quickly as possible. Your responses will also be made a part of the record. Thank you to the three witnesses. You have been very patient with us. We look forward to your responses. With that, the committee is edgy and. [gavel bangs] the committee is adjourned. [gavel bangs] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible here is a look at what is live on tuesday. The house is back at 9 00 a. M. Eastern for general speeches, legislative business at 11 00. Members will work on a temporary spending bill to fund the government until december 11. At 9 00 a. M. On cspan two, georgetown law has a preview on the supreme courts new term beginning next month. At 10 00, the Senate Returns to consider judicial and executive nominations for the court of federal claims and the equal Employment Opportunity commission. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve rging foul on cspan3 treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve chair jay powell testify. Followed by a hearing by the cybersecurity subcommittee looking at Cyber Threats related to the