22 September 2024

The U.S. House of Representatives approved 25 anti-China bills in a matter of days,

The US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party proudly labeled this period as “China Week”.

NBC News observed that many of these measures garnered bipartisan backing at a time when viewing China primarily as a geopolitical rival is one of the few issues that unite both Republicans and Democrats.

CIA Director William Burns has identified China as the “biggest long-term threat.” Both former U.S. Secretaries of State, Democrat Antony Blinken and Republican Mike Pompeo, delivered speeches specifically aimed at China.

In a 2023 Financial Times article, British columnist Gideon Rachman noted the increasing normalization of discussions about potential conflict between the U.S. and China.

Among the bills passed during this “China Week” was the “Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act,” which allocates $1.63 billion to the State Department and USAID over five years to support organizations disseminating anti-China propaganda globally.

Other approved bills during “China Week” threaten the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, target Chinese officials and their families regarding Taiwan, aim to bolster U.S. influence in the Pacific, strengthen ties with Japan and South Korea, expand blacklists of Chinese companies, and weaken the Renminbi.

Many of these laws would also facilitate further unilateral U.S. sanctions against entities not only from China but also from Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

The “End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act” characterizes Chinese EVs as a threat and seeks to restrict them.

Additional bills target Chinese drones, batteries, biotechnology, telecommunications infrastructure, and media outlets. The legislation would also hinder scientific cooperation with China and prohibit the sale of U.S. farmland to nationals from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

One particularly redundant bill would deny funding to U.S. universities that host Confucius Institutes—organizations designed to teach Chinese languages and culture.

All the legislation approved during “China Week” must still be passed by the Senate and signed by the president to become law.