Faith, Freedom, and Technology: Standing Up to the CCP’s Repression — Chairman John Moolenaar at the Hudson Institute

Good morning everyone, and I want to thank the Hudson Institute for bringing together such a distinguished group of thinkers and leaders. That's you. You know, Hudson has always been and for a long time, been a home for serious ideas and for courage. And I want to start today by recognizing a painful reminder of why our work together matters. Last week, Pastor Jin Mingri, the founder of the Zion Church, one of the China's largest underground congregations, was detained by Chinese authorities at his home in Beihai. His son-in-law, Bill Drexel, works here at Hudson, and many of you know Bill and I had a chance to meet with Bill's wife recently to hear firsthand about their family's experience. And that connection really brings this issue closer to home. It reminds us that the Chinese Communist Party's aggression is not an abstract thing. It affects real people, people of faith, of conscience, of courage, and let me say clearly, America has and always will stand with those who are persecuted for their beliefs, and we will not allow the CCP to silence the voices of Faith and Freedom, not in Beijing, not in Hong Kong, and not anywhere the party's reach extends. 

The United States and the Chinese Communist Party are locked in a contest that will shape the century ahead, not simply for markets or for influence, but for the rules and values that govern the modern world, the CCP has made the expanse of its ambitions unmistakably clear. Xi Jinping’s government has fused economic, technological and military power into a single system of control, one that uses innovation to crush individuals and entrench the party's authority. They're building a surveillance state as they export repression abroad while consolidating control at home, and they are doing so with the help of Western technology, semiconductor software and tools originally designed for progress that are now being used in turn towards repression. That's the challenge we face, ensuring that America's openness, ingenuity and free enterprise are never again weaponized to strengthen an authoritarian rival. We cannot afford complacency or nostalgia. Engagement has not moderated the CCP. It has emboldened it and while economic ties have grown, so too has Beijing's willingness to threaten our allies, steal our technology and undermine international norms. 

We must build a new framework that preserves and expands U.S. technological leadership while ensuring that those same technologies cannot be turned against us. AI chips and who should be able to buy them, has been a hot topic in Washington, DC lately. The primary point of contention has focused on what US companies should be allowed to sell to China. These have focused on U.S. chip capability as the bar for determining the right threshold. Some have suggested 50% less than the best U.S. chip is the right line, a U.S. minus strategy, if you will. I believe this is backwards. If we're to implement a system that both keeps China locked on U.S. technology and protects national security, we must limit the uplift we give China's AI sector as much as possible. The American innovation system has created companies that are generations ahead of their Chinese counterparts in AI hardware. We cannot hand our strategic adversary a shortcut in developing better AI models to extend their repressive reach. Instead of using U.S. chip capability as the bar. We must set it off China's capability at scale to determine allowable sales. A China plus strategy, our companies can sell to Chinese customers but limited in capability to slightly above China's indigenous ability. Additionally, the key to AI advancement is aggregate compute, and China could continue to challenge the U.S. in AI, even with less capable chips, if there's no limit to how many they can buy. 

Therefore, we must limit the total computing power the Chinese market is able to accumulate to 10% of the U.S. to make sure that we maintain and expand our lead in AI. This rolling technical threshold, or RTT, that we proposed, would implement this strategy instead of static rules tied to one model or benchmark. The RTT would set a dynamic line always a step ahead of what China can produce domestically. It would ensure that our technology stays out of the hands of the People's Liberation Army, while preserving U.S. companies market advantage and enabling them to generate revenue, to invest in research and development. To put it simply, China's capabilities should never be allowed to catch up to ours, and the RTT keeps them perpetually dependent on U.S. technology, on our design, our software, and our manufacturing know-how. I want to make it clear, though, this is not about punishing Chinese people, the people of China. We love the people of China, but it's defending our own security. It's about protecting the tools of freedom and preventing them from being tools of repression. But export controls alone are not enough. 

To sustain this advantage, we must strengthen every link in our own system. That means accelerating domestic semiconductor manufacturing, investing in critical minerals and supply chains, and aligning policy with allies from the Netherlands and Japan to South Korea and Taiwan, so that the CCP cannot exploit gaps that exist between us. We must also enforce our laws with resolve. The CCP state backed firms continue to target American innovation through joint ventures and shell companies. That's why the select committee is working with colleagues in both parties to update our investment screening tools, close loopholes, and modernize enforcement capacity across Commerce, Treasury and Defense. The CCP plays the long game, but history shows that when free nations act with purpose, we outlast every tyrannical regime. Our strategy must be comprehensive, strong enough to deter, smart enough to endure, and principled enough to win. When China detains pastors like Jin Mingri for worshiping, when it imprisons Uyghur Muslims for praying, when it disappears journalists or silences business leaders, it shows the world exactly what kind of a system it represents. 

Our task is to make sure that the 21st Century is not defined by that model, that the tools of our artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing, are governed by free societies that value human dignity. The rolling technical threshold and the broader strategy it represents are part of that fight. They ensure that America's leadership and technology strengthen the free world rather than eroding it. The CCP believes America is too divided, too distracted, too dependent to lead. They believe we no longer have unity or the will to defend what we stand for. But I believe the opposite. Across party lines and across generations. Americans understand that the defense of freedom begins with clarity, clarity about what we value and what we're willing to protect. As long as we stay focused, disciplined and united, the CCP will remain dependent, not dominant. America will remain the indispensable leader of the free world. I want to thank you very much for being with you today.