The newly formed special committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress in the USA, held its first session, which started at 7:00 pm local time last night and lasted for about three hours.
In the session broadcast live on some televisions, lawmakers discussed “the threats posed by the Chinese administration to US national security” and called for urgent action against these steps by China.
In the session, Former US President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General HR McMaster and Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger, and American Manufacturing Association (AAM) President Scott Paul and activist Tong Yi shared their views with the committee and answered the questions of lawmakers.
The “existential struggle” against China
Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher said that the fight against the ideological, technological, economic and military threats that China poses to the United States is an “existential struggle”.
Emphasizing that Democratic and Republican members should work together on this issue, Gallagher argued that the policies to be implemented in the next 10 years will shape the next 100 years.
Gallagher stated that they believe that China will make reforms, especially thanks to economic engagement, but that they should learn from these mistakes.
Democratic lawmaker Raja Krishnamoorthi said that in the last 30 years, both Democrats and Republicans have underestimated the CCP and thought that business investment could bring democracy in the Indo-Pacific, but the opposite was true.
In this context, Krishnamoorthi said that the USA should invest especially in technology and manufacturing, and on the other hand, they do not want a new cold or hot war with China.
TikTok also came to the fore
Emphasizing the importance of getting ahead in economic and military competition with China, the deputies also drew attention to the technology steps of the Chinese administration.
Pointing out that the Chinese social media platform TikTok poses a threat to national security, Pottinger argued that the CCP can manipulate the American agenda as long as TikTok is allowed to be used in the US.
In the session, China’s growing role in the world economy with the Belt and Road Project was also discussed.
Noting that technology products make up one third of the trade with China, Scott also claimed that American workers were adversely affected by cheap Chinese products.
Republican lawmaker Rob Wittman argued that Beijing is after creating an army that threatens not only the Indo-Pacific, but the entire world. Wittman also said that the CCP is “slyly” using social media to shape the world of thought of American children.
McMaster also defended the view that China is a greater threat than the Soviet Union, especially in terms of its relationship with the global economy and its intelligence activities.