[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 57 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2169-S2172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        U.S.-CHINA RELATIONSHIP

  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Wisconsin for 
his remarks on Judge Gorsuch. I look forward to this debate this week 
as we work to confirm Judge Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court in a 
bipartisan fashion.
  This evening, though, I come to the floor to talk about another very 
important issue that is happening in this country this week; that is, 
the U.S.-China relationship that will be highlighted this week as 
President Trump prepares to meet with President Xi for the first time 
later this week.
  This summer presents a tremendous opportunity for President Trump to 
expressly state our hope for the relationship, while also elucidating 
the valid concerns and questions we have about

[[Page S2170]]

some of China's policies and its future directions.
  I am also leading a bipartisan letter with Senator Schatz, and I hope 
my colleagues will join me in expressing our thoughts about this 
important relationship.
  The U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential relationship in 
the world. We must get it right. Beijing must also get it right. So 
today I will address what I hope President Trump will focus on in his 
conversation with President Xi and also outline a legislative 
initiative that I am leading in Congress to strengthen our policies in 
the Asia-Pacific region.
  I believe the most urgent challenge between our two nations is the 
coming nuclear crisis on the North Korean Peninsula. Last year alone, 
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests and a staggering 24 ballistic 
missile launches. Kim Jong Un is committed to developing his nuclear 
missile program with one goal in mind--to have a reliable capability to 
deliver a nuclear warhead to Seoul, Tokyo, and, most importantly, to 
the continental United States.
  President Trump has said that the United States will not allow that 
to happen. I am encouraged by the President's resolve. However, the 
road to stopping Pyongyang undoubtedly lies through Beijing. Beijing is 
the reason the regime acts so boldly and with relative few 
consequences.
  China is the only country that holds the diplomatic and economic 
leverage necessary to put the real squeeze on the North Korean regime. 
So while the United States argues over strategic patience or measured 
resolve, China must go beyond mere articulation of concern and lay out 
a transparent path forward on how they will work to denuclearize North 
Korea.
  For our part, President Trump must lay out a simple calculus for 
President Xi: The United States will deploy every economic, diplomatic, 
and, if necessary, military tool at our disposal to deter Pyongyang and 
to protect our allies. China has a responsibility globally to do the 
same. As part of our toolbox, the administration should tell China it 
will now significantly ramp up the sanctions track. Last Congress, I 
led the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which passed 
the Senate by a vote of 96 to 0.
  This legislation was the first stand-alone legislation in Congress 
regarding North Korea to impose mandatory sanctions on the regime's 
proliferation activities, human rights violations, and malicious cyber 
behavior. The administration must fully enforce this legislation, 
including imposing secondary sanctions on any Chinese entities that are 
aiding Pyongyang.
  In addition, China must faithfully implement all United Nations 
Security Council resolutions with regard to North Korea, particularly 
resolutions 2270 and 2321, negotiated last year, which require China to 
drastically reduce coal imports from North Korea. China's record in 
this has been lackluster so far. China should stop being complicit in 
the labor abuses of Pyongyang and shut off avenues of cyber attack, as 
well, that are being perpetrated by North Korea through Chinese 
channels.
  Two weeks ago, China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, called on the 
United States and South Korea to halt their annual joint military 
exercises in exchange for North Korea's suspending its missile and 
nuclear activities, a deal that the Trump administration rightfully 
rejected. We should let Beijing know that the United States will not 
negotiate with Pyongyang at the expense of the security of our allies.
  Moreover, before any talks, we must demand that Pyongyang first meet 
the denuclearization commitments it had already agreed to and 
subsequently chose to discard. President Trump should unequivocally 
condemn the economic pressure exerted by Beijing on Seoul over the 
deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, on 
South Korean territory. THAAD is a defensive system that in no way 
threatens China, and Beijing knows this.
  Most importantly, President Trump should indicate to President Xi 
that a denuclearized Korean Peninsula is in both nation's interests. 
But to achieve this goal, Beijing must be made to choose whether it 
wants to work with the United States as a responsible leader to stop 
the madman in Pyongyang or bear and acknowledge the consequences of 
keeping him in power.

  Another looming crisis in U.S.-China relations is the escalation of 
tension in the East and South China Seas. China's recent destabilizing 
activities and actions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea 
are contrary to international law, pose an increased risk of future 
conflict, and necessitate a strong U.S. and regional response.
  Their actions seem at odds with their words. China has declared an 
illegitimate air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, has 
dramatically expanded its land reclamation activities in the South 
China Sea, and has clearly added a military element to it. Since 2013, 
according to the Department of Defense, China has reclaimed over 3,200 
acres of artificial features in the South China Sea.
  On July 12, 2016, an international tribunal in the Hague ruled that 
China violated the sovereignty of the Philippines with regard to 
maritime disputes between the two nations. Since 2015, China has also 
built facilities with potential military uses on the artificial 
islands, including three airstrips--two more than 10,000-feet long, and 
one nearly 9,000-feet long--hangers that can shelter jet fighters, 
harbors, anti-aircraft batteries, radars, and structures that could 
house surface-to-air missiles.
  This last week, the Center for Strategic and International Studies 
Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported that major construction 
of military dual-use infrastructure on the ``Big 3''--Subi, Mischief, 
and Fiery Cross Reefs--is wrapping up, with naval, air, radar, and 
defensive facilities largely complete.
  Beijing can now deploy military assets, according to AMTI, including 
combat aircraft and mobile missile launchers to the Spratly Islands at 
any time.
  The United States must have consistent and assertive diplomatic 
engagement with China to reinforce that these rogue activities fall 
outside of accepted international norms. The U.S. defense posture in 
this region should remain exactly what Secretary of Defense Ashton 
Carter said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30, 2015. I 
quote Secretary Carter:

       The United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever 
     international law allows, as U.S. forces do all over the 
     world. America, alongside its allies and partners in the 
     regional architecture, will not be deterred from exercising 
     these rights--the rights of all nations.

  A consistent, deliberate, and assertive policy to do just that is 
imperative for the United States. During the upcoming summit, I hope 
that President Trump can set an agenda for positive economic engagement 
with China and recognize that this is a two-way street. As the top two 
economies in the world, our nations are inextricably linked, and we 
must continue to build a trade partnership that benefits the United 
States, our companies, and U.S. exporters. However, this engagement 
also means ensuring that China plays fair.
  First and foremost, China must stop its state-sponsored and state-
endorsed theft of foreign intellectual property. According to a report 
by the Intellectual Property Commission, chaired by ADM Dennis Blair, 
the former U.S. Commander of the Pacific Command, and John Huntsman, 
the former Ambassador to China, the theft of U.S. intellectual property 
is estimated at over $300 billion annually, and China accounts for 
about 50 to 80 percent of that amount.
  China must understand that this behavior with regard to the massive 
and well documented theft of foreign intellectual property is 
unacceptable and antithetical to international norms. China also needs 
significant improvement to its legal system and to further open its 
economy to foreign and private investment.
  China must understand that new regulations that seek to discriminate 
against American companies, anti-market policies that favor state-owned 
enterprises, lack of transparency, and other policies that create an 
uneven playing field for the United States and our enterprises in China 
are not acceptable, and that those protectionist behaviors will only 
further isolate China or hurt their global competitiveness, if they are 
adopted globally, as they seek to engage further in the world's 
economy.

[[Page S2171]]

  While many American firms still look to China as a top priority to 
grow and succeed in the global marketplace, without tangible economic 
and legal reforms within China, I fear that these opportunities will be 
more limited in the future and seriously jeopardize the bilateral 
commercial relations between our two nations. But if Beijing changes 
course, the upside of these reforms for China and the United States can 
be enormous.
  A pillar of any nation that seeks a prosperous future and a future 
with a strong relationship with the United States must be international 
freedoms. As President Kennedy once stated: ``The rights of every man 
are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.''
  President Trump should heed President Kennedy's wise words and raise 
China's deplorable human rights record with President Xi. Chinese 
authorities are intensifying human rights abuses and cracking down on 
civil society. According to the State Department's 2015 Human Rights 
Report on China: ``Repression and coercion markedly increased during 
the year against organizations and individuals involved in civil and 
political rights advocacy and public interest and ethnic minority 
issues.''
  According to the State Department's 2015 International Religious 
Freedom Report on China: ``Over this past year, there continued to be 
reports that the government physically abused, detained, arrested, 
tortured, sentenced to prison, or harassed adherents of both registered 
and unregistered religious groups for activities related to their 
beliefs and practices.''
  We simply cannot and will not accept this type of behavior from a 
nation that wants to be thought of as a genuine global partner of the 
United States. I believe that China's rise can only be peaceful and 
balanced with a vigorous U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific region that 
is able to check Beijing's worst impulses.
  Last May, while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, I heard a 
tremendous amount of concern from the region's top leaders about U.S. 
presence in the Asia-Pacific region and our commitment to remaining 
engaged in this critical part of the world. The Trump administration is 
inheriting a flawed Asia rebalance policy from the previous 
administration, which was right in rhetoric but ultimately came up 
short in meaningful action. The new administration and the new Congress 
ushers in a new era of opportunities with regard to U.S. policy toward 
the Asia Pacific.
  But despite the political changes in Washington, U.S. policy 
imperatives will remain the same. The Asia-Pacific region has been and 
will be crucial and critical to U.S. economic and national security 
interests for generations to come. By 2050, experts estimate that Asia 
will account for over half of the global population and half of the 
world's gross domestic product.
  We cannot ignore the fundamental fact that this region is critical 
for the U.S. economy to grow and to create jobs through export 
opportunities. Last week, I held a committee hearing with Ambassador 
Bob Gallucci, former Ambassador to South Korea, and Congressman Randy 
Forbes, from Virginia, who was the chairman of some key committees as 
they dealt with Asia and our naval forces.
  In Congressman Forbes' testimony, he also expressed the importance of 
this region, the Asia Pacific, in these terms: In the coming decades, 
this is the region where the largest armies in the world will camp. 
This is the region where the most powerful navies in the world will 
gather. This is the region where over one-half of the world's commerce 
will take place and two-thirds will travel. This is the region where a 
maritime superhighway--transporting good or bad things--linking the 
Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Australia, Northeast Asia, and the 
United States begins. This is the region where five of America's seven 
defense treaties are located. This is the region where two superpowers 
will compete to determine which world order will prevail. This is the 
region where the seeds of conflict that could most engulf the world 
will probably be planted.

  This is why I am pursuing legislation called the Asia Reassurance 
Initiative Act, ARIA, a new approach that will put American interests 
first by reassuring our allies, deterring our adversaries, and securing 
U.S. leadership in the region for future generations.
  The ARIA will pursue three broad goals.
  First, it will strengthen U.S. security commitments to our allies and 
build partner capacity in the Asia Pacific to deter aggression, project 
power, and combat terrorism. To do so, the ARIA legislation will 
authorize funds to bolster U.S. military presence in the region, grow 
partner nation maritime capabilities to deter aggression in their 
territorial waters, and build new counterterrorism partner programs in 
Southeast Asia to combat the growing presence of ISIS and other 
terrorist organizations.
  ARIA will also enshrine a policy of regularly enforcing U.S. freedom 
of navigation and overflight rights in the East and South China Seas.
  We will reaffirm our longstanding treaty alliances with Australia, 
South Korea, and Japan, and call for building new regional security 
partnerships. We will unequivocally back our ally Taiwan, including 
authorizing new arms sales and providing for enhanced diplomatic 
contacts with Taipei.
  Second, ARIA will promote diplomatic engagement and securing U.S. 
market access in the Asia Pacific region as essential elements for the 
future growth of the U.S. economy and success of American businesses. 
To do so, ARIA will also require that the Trump administration find new 
and innovative ways to economically engage the region. We will require 
the U.S. Government to enhance our trade facilitation efforts and 
increase opportunities for U.S. businesses to find new export markets 
in the Asia Pacific. U.S.-made exports to Asia will mean more good-
paying American jobs at home, which is a great situation for this 
country.
  Third, it will enshrine promotion of democracy, human rights, and 
transparency as key U.S. policy objectives in the Asia Pacific region, 
particularly in Southeast Asia. From Manila to Rangoon, we should 
advocate for principled policies that emphasize accountability and 
transparency as indispensable elements of building any security or 
economic partnerships with the United States.
  To inform this initiative, I have met with numerous key stakeholders 
in Congress and the administration. I am also holding a series of 
hearings in my subcommittee, the first of which took place last week.
  I look forward to working with the Congress and all of our colleagues 
as we work to advance this initiative. I welcome the input of my 
colleagues as well.
  There is no doubt that the rise of China over the last 30-plus years 
has been remarkable. China has lifted 500 million people from poverty 
since Premier Deng Xiaoping began his economic reforms in 1979, and it 
is now the second largest economy in the world. In that time, our 
relationship with China has emerged as perhaps the world's most 
important bilateral relationship, both from an economic and security 
perspective.
  I believe that a mature, productive, and peaceful relationship with 
Beijing is in the national security and economic interests of the 
United States. For both nations, the importance of this relationship 
can make a significant difference for the world.
  While the United States can and should seek to engage China, we must 
do so with a clear vision of what we want from Beijing, not just over 
the next 4 years but also over the next 40 years. So it is my sincere 
hope that President Trump leads with this sense of strategy and purpose 
when he meets President Xi later this week.
  I know my colleague from Ohio has joined us, so I again want to 
express my appreciation to my colleague from Ohio for his leadership on 
a number of issues, including the opiate epidemic that has struck so 
many of our communities and States. It is so terrifying.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from 
Colorado. He does chair a subcommittee that I am a part of. We had a 
great hearing last week, talking about China and the South China Sea 
issues, as he mentioned. We did talk about North Korea and the need for 
this summit between President Xi and President Trump to

[[Page S2172]]

include a discussion of how China could be more constructive, including 
the possibility of additional sanctions on North Korea to try to get 
some sort of pressure on the North Koreans to do the right thing and 
back off their nuclear program.
  We also talked about trade. To level the playing field, we need 
trade, particularly allowing U.S. companies to have the ability to do 
what Chinese companies can do here in this country. And my colleague 
talked a little about that this evening.
  I will say--because he mentioned the issue of opioids--there is 
another topic that I hope President Trump will raise with President Xi, 
and that is this issue of synthetic heroin being produced in China, 
which actually comes into our communities. In Denver, CO, or in 
Columbus, OH, we have through the mail system these poisons coming in, 
synthetic heroin coming through the mail from China.
  We are told by law enforcement officials that most of these 
laboratories are in China. These are evil scientists in China who are 
making this incredibly potent, dangerous drug. It is 30 to 50 times 
more powerful than heroin. Three flakes of it can kill you. They are 
putting it into packages and sending it into our communities through 
the mail.
  It is a topic that I hope comes up--in addition to the very important 
ones that my colleague has raised and we talked about in the hearing 
last week--which is: How do you get China to actually crack down on 
these laboratories? And how do you get them to schedule these drugs so 
that they are illegal in China, to ensure the inputs into the 
laboratories and the final drug itself?
  By the way, the Chinese should have a strong interest in this 
because, I will guarantee you, there are people in China who are also 
becoming addicted to opioids because of this inexpensive, incredibly 
dangerous synthetic heroin that is being promoted by these Chinese 
scientists.
  My hope is that this will be a successful summit and among the very 
important issues raised is this opioid issue, which is so important to 
our communities.

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