The Senate ForeignRelations Committee will come to order. Welcome everyone, good morning. We will have senators participating both live and virtually. Since it is difficul the Senate ForeignRelations Committee will come to order. We will have senators participating live then virtually as a result of that its difficult to determine to go in ty, seniority and we both come three witnesses the assistant secretary of state and the bureau official for the European Eurasian Affairs and Principal Deputy assistant for western hemisphere fears. We appreciate you being here. We will be talking about china obviously that presents us with manyy challenges and opportunities. There has been a lot of legislation introduced and there is a bill we introduced earlier this year to bring together as many as possible so the minority introduced ase bill senator schumer is the lead sponsor but this is not a partisan issue that is an American Issue. When i put the bill togetheren originally come i did so to bring together the thought process and we consulted with a number of people on this side and on the other side and there is a lot of input from the bipartisan effort in the bill both republican and democrat i am glad to hear there has been this bill introduced by the minority hoping we can bring them all together in one bill to get behind. This is an American Issue its not partisan. July deputy secretary testified before the committee on the strategy for advancing competition with china today we take a deeper look at you a strategy in three important regions it has three objectives and first alec forward to the departments assessment of chinese impact in these regions and what its doing to secure those interest and those activities are Common Knowledge and as of the things going on that we drill down to a more important to better understand in concrete and specific turns terms and then to undermine prosperity and security and Good Governance thats an important thing to shed light on for the American People and certainly those of us who deal in these kinds of things of chinas activities virtually everywhere you go in the world china is there attempting to better the position in the strategic act it is the highest priority of the Indo Pacific Region it is for the United States and then to prioritize to expand Economic Engagement especially in Southeast Asia and the political will to examine those alliances and that it is resource properly as a proportion of the state departments budget and personnel and then to achieve regional supremacy and then to become a leading world power to impacts the other regions we are examining today and one of the major priorities is to construct the agenda but the challenges china presents we are already moving in that direction with leaders from European Countries on that hits a welcoming audience. And to uphold the integrity of International Institutions france and germany and United Kingdom were deepening their engagement in the indo pacific. N. And then to build on that together i am very encouraged and i look forward to hearing about that and other efforts today. In the western hemisphere the negative effects for the chinese influence is clear including the predatory finance mechanisms for Infrastructure Projects on the road. And with that social unrest and with the fishing practices and then to be on the lives of canadian citizens this is appalling im encouraged by the president s efforts and the willingness to collaborate to promote a more prosperous future and the accountable frameworks this is an opportunity of the coordination of thehe strategy across these different regions it is important that the strategy is articulated coherently and executed effectively thank you to the witnesses for being here who shares many of my concerns in this regard and that we can. As we have discussed we share a common view we have entered a more competitive era with china to display global ambitions and why many on this committee have concerns the strategies and policy still fall well short to answer the enormity of the challenge led by the communist Party President xi hyper nationalism is unlike any challenge we have faced as a nation before. And as we have an opportunity to discuss china is more active and assertive around the globe than ever before unfortunately during last years a trump agenda has served only in power chinese aggression and we can us influence and fail American Workers this moment demands a strong Strategic Response that can begin to rebuild American Leadership and then to outcompete china thats why i have joined with a number of my colleagues to introduce the america leads act. And invest in our values to ensure china pays a price for the predatory actions. With a comprehensive and coherent strategy with a new competitive china relationship to define those Critical Resources to mobilize all aspects of National Power with the recognition that american competitiveness starts with investment here at home science and technology and innovation and driven by the need to tool the end of one the 21st century and the broader architecture with that Indo Pacific Strategy with those partnerships with the values that make america exceptional with a tough and pragmatic realistic appraisal economic trade policies so the legislation also includes provisions with the implementation with original restrategies that china poses in europe and the western hemisphere and then the indo pacific itself. And as we discussed at the hearing i look forward to working withok him and the bipartisan approach on this issue more specific the to the hearing today are very interested in hearing from ambassador to get a sense of their perspective on their regions of responsibility in western hemisphere there is a lively debate across eu countries in europe and the United States on the right approach to china so as we are here defense in europe should be among the closest partners i dont know if anyone would argueru the distractive approach to the transatlantic to have that agenda any easier its not a good recipe for success in salting leaders across europe is not a recipe for success in the essential Building Block and its core ace strong Transatlantic Alliance does not exist as it has in the past seeking to pressure europe with our realtor it is to china 5g is the best example with the United States with those alternatives to huawai while pressuring allies. And with that Transatlantic Relations we have to endeavor to make progress i will come the call for the working group on china that is an important firstt step the details afford to this initiative the power of the American Economy and the europeanss economy has. The leverage and it could be that sole factor that moves the needle we should be laser focused to enhance that leverage to the fullest extent possible here in our own hemisphere with Economic Engagements not be viewed to the solitary lens of a zerosum game but when we fail to show up under President Trump we should not be surprised that expands at our expense whether it had punitive tariffs on the north americanr neighbors with essential American Partners has only afflicted damage when the very relationships we need to counter the more corrosive elements and the Trump Administrations results speak for themselves. Their broken diplomatic relations with taiwan in beijing. The ct Surveillance Technology the maduro regime has control over the venezuelan people and remains firmly in control and the allies in canada arrested huawai cfo for extradition to the United States the Trump Administration responded with a little more than press statements as they have a tariff to kidnap canadian citizens is the caribbean has become the epicenter of the pandemic the Trump Administration has overpromised and under delivered and those with Vaccine Access and delivery in the Development Financede corporation and with that development to better compete with china and with that rhetoric has out pasted sections to pass or pass the need for substance. And then to advance i competitiveness security and transparency senators rubio and cardin with that diplomatic and securityat assistance and those are the tools they need for chinas predatory practices. With those all bluster and tactics no strategy approach and the western hemisphere and elsewhere its clear we need a real strategy to cope so with a genuine conversation for the witnesses to develop a competence of approach to china and then to place the partnerships that reflect the fundamental values thank you mr. Chairman the first prior to his appointment as assistant secretary serving in the air force 35 years retired in 2015 Brigadier General with advisor to the joint chiefs surveying multiple tours of duty most recently serving as a director of the strategic edfocus group of the endo pacific commands on hawaii secretary stillwell the floor is yours. And with the Foreign Relations committee we appreciate the opportunity to testify before this committee to discuss a threat for the Chinese Communist party to the United States and with several Department Colleagues the fact the three of us are testifying in the geographic regions and how it is meeting to adjust the challenge. And then to lead to increasing domestic reform. And then to shatter thoser allusions. To those of the Foreign Security policy into a single beneficiary to the Chinese Communist party. The conduct is being noticed Foreign Companies in the manipulations silencing critics a broad buying or stealing or forcing this information egregious human rights abuses to destabilize revisionism to especially the global dangers of lack of transparency today we are engaging with the Chinese Communist party as itda is in the competition with the peoples republic of china dont go to conflict and then as efforts are guided by the National Security strategy around the four pillars laid out the strategy. And with that prosperity through peace through strength to advance american influence and with those Resources Data and messaging direction breaking down bureaucratic. Shifting resources with new coordination mechanisms datadriven diplomacy tools to give information and analysis theyey require and to focus specifically on china policy portfolio and in response to drastically increase their reporting on the influence tripling the cadre of those experts to identify Regional Trends in the Chinese Communist partyty behavior the battle against these activities requires messaging that is wellinformed well crafted and executed around the world. Our Public Diplomacy teams work with the peer of Public Affairs in the Global Engagement center to promote a positiveen version of leadership and expose misaligned conduct and to expose propaganda and misinformation. And then for those of the local competitors. And then to raise Global Awareness about this and we and other agencies to play new mechanisms in key areas including strategic infrastructure and commercial competition in investment screening. And then to take important measures to have with the strategy these measures include ensuring those damn students and researchers are not able from graduatelevel study in fields related to military modernization and then to partner those institutions that with the 5g networks with the interested vendors and more last month secretary pompeo focused on safeguarding citizens privacy for manipulation or p disruption also to bring transparency and reciprocity to those of malign influence with propaganda united front organizations in a sense for very we have designated usbased operations and in march we cap the number of piercing national zicam work at these outlets. And with those in appropriate activities. Now require to seek permission before meetings in large events too academic and in support of these efforts we sincerely appreciate congressional leadership and with the appropriations bill 2020 this important provision provides a flexible mechanism to bolster efforts to strengthen the resiliency to chinese malign influence worldwide. With over 400 project submissions around the globe too far outstrip the appropriate funding. If i could continue this but turning to the broader region it is paramount with that competition and then merge with the endo pacific and with that sovereignty and autonomy and pluralism of Indo Pacific States to dominate the region and support a region that is open to trade and investment free from coercion and the United States and to speak clearly of the endo pacific and south korea as well as the outlet for the pacific showing alignment across partners and to advance economic initiatives in lockstep with allies and partners like High Standard infrastructure and investment screening and many more and commercial diplomacy and then to be saddled with unsustainable debt and economic pressure to promote Good Governance and with the Transparency Initiative two years ago focusing on vectors of corruption disinformation information control enforcing security commitments to help protect sovereignty and maritime resources. And we are developing new arrangements with those likeminded partners with estonia india and japan marked a new milestone in the indo pacific and respecting taiwan with the taiwan relations act it is a commitment to the one policy including the insistence to be resolved recent visit by secretary as are they will work with ty on time once on issues such as Global Health and then further robust orwi economic ties and then to support the meaningful participation and economic organizations and then to announce a us policy and with the beijing claims to offshore resources the South China Sea as is the campaign of bowling to control them the secretary also announced for prc state owned enterprises with that construction. With all the efforts of each other countries is critical and we see results dozens of countries with those vendors from the 5g networks and seen r stricter investments in the eu and more than a dozen other countries into the top leadership position of the intellectual property men to join us at the un in the committee more more countries are taking action in the united organizations of propaganda outlets. We have really several joint statements with allies and partners many of suspended extradition training treaties to hong kong and export controls we are encouraging all countries to push transparency and reciprocity with piercy and expose those factors of influence including the state media personnel and diplomats with the state enterprises and others and in conclusion United States has an important relationship of the prc is most countries in the world were not asking her to choose between us and china but to hold beijing accountable for the maligned behavior and in theij process their own National Sovereignty and economic wellbeing. And with the rules based International System and the collective Peace Security and prosperity for generations. And supports were committed efforts thank you. And its a good tour around the issues that we deal with and theres a lot to impact. Now we turn to the ambassador led the bureau of european and edeurasian affairs and with the macedonia in to malign. And to my knowledge this is the first time the head of the European Bureau testified at a hearing on chinese influence that scope and scale weeds face from the Chinese Communist party theres been an excellent part how the they are implementing thela strategy will focus my remarks and we see the challenge in europe in coronation with allies in my europe matter so much in the era of renewed strategic competition and with the closest and oldest allies the largest export market for goods and services are each others primary source and destination for Foreign Direct Investment that accounts for over 40 percent of the worlds gdp three. 6 trillion in 2019 is more than four times Us Investment of the asiapacific region the chinese come his party has realize that atlantic relationship is the beating heart of the west end the biggest obstacle for the future world order chinas global ambitions are not possible with the Transatlantic Alliance remain strong to oppose chinese authoritarian overtures does not necessarily seek new allies in europe they prefer vessels and not partners but it was to drive a wedge between United States andot allies the starting point of our engagement must be the shared values and the basic conception how the government ought to behave in of the fundamental concepts of the importance of the rule of law and the Chinese Communist party does not afford basic rights. Europe is not just in terms of what we can do together elsewhered with the theater strategic competition in its own right. And then work with them to counter and the one belt one Road Initiative the Chinese Communist party is cultivating clients and dependencies. And those 12 countries china aims to achieve access and ownership over valuable transportation hubs ports and industries. Over the last three years increased awareness with the transatlantic awakening the diplomats from the secretary on down and the tide has turned the substantial diplomatic engagement contrast with the heavyhanded mask diplomacy and to see firsthand how the ccp handles criticism and to bear fruit just to touch on a few highlights using it authorities the bipartisan build act and diversification act we have been able to begin leveraging the new Development Finance corporation to to begin leveraging the new Development Finance corporation to at the Munich Security Conference this year with 1 billion with the three Cs Initiative and where he visited just last month with a target of chinese leader and seven countries have signed bilateral memoranda of understanding on the 5g security and signing one just yesterday with lithuania visiting here in washington. Fifteen european nations have adapted best practicesoptibest m her own legislation as models to draft their own laws to protect industriess maligned Foreign Investment and as discussed in the meeting yesterday the United Kingdom plans to secure its networks from france and germany both recently unveiled strategies unvc 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