New China committee debuts, warns of 'existential struggle'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A special House committee dedicated to countering China began its work Tuesday with a prime-time hearing designed to awaken Americans to the dangers that lawmakers say the Chinese government poses to the United States’ economy and security.

While some critics expressed concern the hearings could escalate U.S.-Chinese tensions, the panel’s chairman framed the competition between the two nations as “an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century.”

Tensions between the U.S. and China have been rising for years, with both countries enacting retaliatory tariffs on an array of imports during President Donald Trump’s time in office. China’s opaque response to the COVID-19 pandemic, its aggression toward Taiwan and the recent flight of a possible spy balloon over the U.S. have fueled lawmakers’ desire to counter the Chinese government. The new Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is expected to be at the center of many of their efforts over the next two years.

The committee's chairman, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., opened the hearing by calling for a sense of urgency. Addressing the difficulty of finding common ground on China-focused legislation, he said the Chinese government has found friends on Wall Street and in lobbyists on Washington's K Street who are ready to oppose the committee's efforts.

“Time is not on our side. Just because this Congress is divided, we cannot afford to waste the next two years lingering in legislative limbo or pandering for the press,” Gallagher said in prepared remarks.

Gallagher is looking for the committee to shepherd several bills over the finish line during the next two years and issue a set of recommendations on long-term policies. So far, Gallagher appears to have Democratic buy-in...