The Select: A Weekly Committee Recap (Week of 5/27)

Welcome to The Select, a weekly newsletter on the work of the Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party led by Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI).

See below for this week's updates.

Select Committee Republicans Call on Treasury to Investigate Six Chinese Companies, Funded by U.S. Investment, for Supporting Iran's Military & Terrorist Proxies

As first reported by the National Review, today, Chairman Moolenaar, and all 11 other Republican members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calling on the Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to investigate six People's Republic of China (PRC) companies that support Iran’s military and energy sector. These companies help Iran circumvent U.S. sanctions already in place and jeopardize U.S. strategic interests.

Billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. investment, goods, and services flow to these PRC companies. In an April report, the Select Committee found that $6.5 billion of U.S. investment capitalized PRC companies deemed to be national security risks as of 2023. Many of those companies were identified in a similar January report published by the Prague Security Studies Institute as being strategically tied to Iran’s military or its energy industry to the tune of at least $6 billion.

Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Andy Barr (R-KY), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Jim Banks (R-IN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) joined Chairman Moolenaar.

The lawmakers write, "Many of these companies even appear to engage in activities that violate existing U.S. sanctions against Iran. As a result, U.S. retirees are likely indirectly funding activities that run counter to U.S. national security and international stability."

They continue, “The United States must counter the new authoritarian axis spearheaded by the PRC and Iran and penalize those PRC companies that help fund Iran’s activities to support Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and stoke attacks against Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad—all Specially Designated Nationals by Treasury.”

Lawmakers requested Treasury investigate the six companies (listed below) to determine whether their activities with respect to Iran have violated U.S. sanctions or otherwise warrant sanctions:

1. China North Industries Group Co., Ltd. (Norinco)

2. Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC)

3. China Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd. (COSCO)

4. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)

5. CRRC Corporation Limited (CRRC)

6. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)

View the lawmakers’ letter to Secretary Yellen HERE 

Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi Request FBI & DNI Briefing on Chinese Communist Party-Linked Biotech Firm

As first reported by Axios, today, Chairman Moolenaar, and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines requesting a briefing on a People’s Republic of China (PRC) biotech firm GenScript Biotechnology and its three main business segments — Bestzyme, Legend Biotech, and ProBio — for their ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the implications these connections may have for U.S. national security.

The lawmakers write, “GenScript’s role as a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), including services such as the production of custom gene synthesis for companies and U.S. Government entities, raises concerns about potential risks to the intellectual property of U.S. firms and GenScript's broader role in advancing the PRC’s biotech capabilities."

They continue, "GenScript is working to establish CCP-controlled chokepoints in critical areas of biotechnology in which the U.S. currently leads... GenScript’s public statements and the active role of its internal CCP Committee in guiding company strategy suggest a concerted effort to advance Beijing’s goal of reducing reliance on foreign biotech and achieving a dominant position in the global industry."

The lawmakers requested that the DNI and FBI Director brief the Select Committee on available intelligence and law enforcement information regarding GenScript Biotech Corporation and its U.S.-based subsidiaries to determine the extent of CCP influence and control over their operations, the potential risks they pose to U.S. national security, and the implications of their efforts to displace U.S. leadership in the biotechnology sector. 

View the lawmakers’ letter to FBI Director Wray and DNI Haines HERE 

Moolenaar on Guilty Verdicts for Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Activists

Thursday, Chairman Moolenaar released the following statement on the guilty verdicts handed down today in Hong Kong against pro-democracy advocates under the Chinese Communist Party’s National Security Law.

“The guilty verdicts handed down today in Hong Kong are just the latest sign of the continued deterioration of Hong Kongers’ rights and freedoms. Whether through the National Security Law or Article 23, the Chinese Communist Party has made clear it will crush dissent in all forms through its proxy Hong Kong authorities. The United States will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong who fight for the rights and freedoms they were promised.”