ICYMI: House Panel on Chinese Communist Party Threats Survives Into New Congress

WASHINGTON DC — In case you missed it, Bill Gertz from the Washington Times reported on the future of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI).

Read key excerpts from the story below or read the full piece HERE.

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A select House committee created two years ago by the Republican majority to address threats posed by communist China will get a new lease on life in the next Congress, bolstered by bipartisan support and a slew of supportive top officials in the coming Trump administration, the panel’s chairman confirmed in an interview.

Rep. John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who heads the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, told The Washington Times he was optimistic about the panel’s prospects in the next Congress given some of President-elect Donald Trump’s early appointments to his national security team.

​“I’m very optimistic that we’ll continue to make progress. The committee has been very bipartisan, and that proves that bipartisanship is still possible when Democrats and Republicans come together against a common threat, a common adversary,” Mr. Moolenaar said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, has signaled that the select committee will continue its work, said Mr. Moolenaar. The chairman added that he had heard from several lawmakers seeking to join the panel.

​“So I’m very optimistic that we’re going to continue the momentum that we’ve established in this most recent Congress,” he said.

​​The select committee, whose members are handpicked by Republican and Democratic House leaders, was established in December 2022. It comprises 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Economic and security activities aim to prevent China from stealing advanced American technology and block Chinese companies from obtaining goods that can boost Beijing’s large-scale military buildup.

​The committee has conducted dozens of hearings, business meetings and investigations and has sent scores of letters to administration officials. The letters signal to the executive branch critical issues that Congress is likely to influence through legislation or restrictions on funding.

The committee’s focus in its first two years included biosecurity and research security, banning the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, confronting the ruling Communist Party’s repression inside China, highlighting environmental concerns, and preventing the loss of American technology to Chinese rivals.

​The committee is also addressing China’s global malign influence activities, critical infrastructure and dangers in cyberspace, transnational repression operations, economic aggression, suppression of democratic elements in Hong Kong, and treatment of the Uyghur minority that the U.S. government has labeled genocide.

On Thursday, Mr. Moolenaar introduced legislation revoking China’s permanent normal trade relations status. China obtained favorable trading benefits despite its state-run economy and lack of a market system.

“So the committee’s work is far from done. There’s a great opportunity to pass legislation in the next several weeks but also in the next Congress. We’re going to continue making sure we enact these key priorities,” he said.