U. S. creates committee to compete with China
2023.01.11 09:40
U. S. creates committee to compete with China
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – One of the first votes since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, the vote on Tuesday to establish a select committee to study China emphasized members’ desire to combat Beijing’s growing international influence.
A resolution establishing the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, which will investigate the issue and make recommendations for policy, was approved by a vote of 365 to 65 in the House.
Democrats cast all 65 “no” votes, with some expressing concern that the Republican-led panel would be too partisan. However, 146 more Democrats cast votes in favor.
Despite concerns that it might be overly partisan, Democratic Representative Jim McGovern, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a group of House members and senators who study China policy, stated that he would vote to establish the select committee.
McGovern said, “We certainly don’t want it to turn into a place that perpetuates anti-Asian hate,” citing previous statements like Republican ex-President Donald Trump’s description of COVID-19 as “the China virus.”
The panel would not be partisan, insisted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“You have my promise and my word. This committee is not partisan. “This will be a committee with members from both parties,” McCarthy stated when urging the House to support the bill.
He said that the committee would look into things like bringing back supply chains and jobs from China to the United States, protecting intellectual property, and so on.
The enormous trade deficit between the United States and China, Chinese pressure on Taiwan, and Beijing’s openness regarding its handling of COVID-19, which first surfaced in that nation, have also caused friction in relations between the two countries.
Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican, will be in charge of the new committee.
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