From 1947-1991, the United States was locked in a battle of wills with the Soviet Union. The Cold War defined a generation because Americans were united in our stance against communism. Though the Cold War technically ended in 1991 and the Soviet Union broke apart, the threat of communism still exists.
In 2020, the United States faces a new communist threat: China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was actually founded a year before the Soviet Union and their longevity is due largely to their isolationist foreign policy. But, China isn't sticking to that plan anymore under leader Xi Jinping. Xi has seen an opportunity to take the world's most populous country from a largely agrarian economy to an international force. For example, the U.S. imports vast amounts of pharmaceuticals manufactured in China, which poses a risk to national security. That is why I have cosponsored the Medical Supply Chain Security Act, to bring critical drug manufacturing back to America.
Unfortunately, for the citizens of China and the rest of the world, the Xi Jinping regime and the Chinese government are communist, so they have expanded their reach through many of the same tactics employed in other totalitarian states. Communism does not create a prosperous nation, so in order to stay in power, communists have to force loyalty. Not only did China usurp Hong Kong's authority, leading to protests this year and last, but we have also uncovered that China is rounding up ethnic minorities, like Uighur Muslims, and sending them to concentration camps.
China is also using modern technology to manipulate currency and steal intellectual property. On September 25, 2015, Xi met with President Obama in the White House Rose Garden, where our two countries agreed that neither would conduct or support theft of intellectual property. That promise was not kept, as it is estimated that the U.S. could be losing up to $600 billion every year due to Chinese hackers stealing trade secrets from the United States.
The threat posed by China cannot go ignored any longer. That is why House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy organized the China Task Force, which has produced a policy report on ways China is cheating the system and what the U.S. can do to protect our people by holding China accountable. I will also note that while no House Democrats were interested in contributing to this report, most of the recommendations made are based on policies that already have bipartisan support. You can read the full report by clicking here.
I am not giving you this information to alarm you, but you should be aware of news that the mainstream media does not cover. China has been a growing threat for years and will continue to act in bad faith unless China is reprimanded for its treachery. The China Task Force and the China Task Force Act, which is a bill that would enact policies from the report, are long overdue. One of the most important jobs of the federal government is to keep you safe and secure and it is time for Congress to correct the wrongs China is committing against the American economy.
