Congressional Hearing: New Terms Needed for US-China Relations

Kitty Wang
By Kitty Wang
May 23, 2019US News
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After 40 years of trying to get along with the Chinese communist regime, the United States is ready to set new terms for engagement.

“The United States made a gamble that as China became more and more involved on the global stage, it would open up domestically and become a constructive stakeholder in the international system. It’s pretty clear that gamble hasn’t paid off in the way we hoped it would,” Eliot Engel, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee said at a Congressional hearing in Washington.

Michael McCaul, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said, “They pose an active and serious threat to the United States economy, developing countries, global democracy and human rights.”

The United States announced new diplomatic relations with China 40 years ago. Despite the hope this announcement offered, the United States has made long-term strategic mistakes with the communist regime that President Trump calls a “strategic competitor.”

“China has been in competition with us for a while, but we have been so invested in the Middle East and South Asia, and paralyzed politically at home, that we have failed to take adequate action for many years,” Kelly Magsamen, Former Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US DoD said.

Aaron Friedberg, Former Deputy Assistant to National Security Affairs, Vice President Cheney’s Office said, “The simplest explanation for the failure of US strategy is that it underestimated the resilience, the resourcesfulness and the ruthlessness of the Chinese Communist Party, and its determination to hold on to domestic political power.”

That thirst for power is innate to the regime, according to speakers at the Congressional hearing.

Friedberg said, “The root of our problems with Beijing, in my view, is the character of the CCP regime. This is not a civilizational struggle, but it’s a contest between two opposing political systems and two contending visions for the future of Asia and the world.”

“It’s an ideology clash, not civilizations, because that sounds like we’re pitting the American people against the Chinese people; we’re not doing that,” said Ted Yoho, Ranking Member of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee, US House Foreign Affairs Committee.

To deal responsibly with China, experts say the United States and its allies should focus on reinforcing democratic systems while resisting the infiltration and expansion of the CCP.

Friedberg said, “We’re going to have to look to our own defenses while we await the breakup or gradual mellowing of CCP power.”

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