[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4932-S4933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5560. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At end of title XII, add the following:
[[Page S4933]]
Subtitle G--Belt and Road Initiative Oversight
SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Belt and Road Oversight
Act''.
SEC. 1282. COUNTRY CHINA OFFICER.
(a) Designation.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
direct all Chiefs of Mission to designate not fewer than 1
Foreign Service Officer in a United States embassy or other
diplomatic post in each country with whom the United States
has diplomatic relations as the Country China Officer.
(b) Duties.--Each Country China Officer shall monitor and
report on the activity of the People's Republic of China in
his or her country of responsibility, including capital
investment in critical infrastructure and other projects
associated with the Belt and Road Initiative.
SEC. 1283. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE
PROJECTS.
(a) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall direct
all United States embassies to prepare a report that details
equity and assets within their country of operation that are
controlled by the Government of the People's Republic of
China. Each such report shall be prepared by a Country China
Officer designated pursuant to section 1282(a) and shall
include the information described in subsection (b).
(b) Contents.--Each report required under subsection (a)
shall include--
(1) an assessment of the respective country's overall debt
obligations to the People's Republic of China;
(2) a list of known infrastructure projects in the
respective country that are financed from capital provided
by--
(A) the banking system of the People's Republic of China,
including--
(i) policy banks, including--
(I) the China Development Bank;
(II) the Export-Import Bank of China; and
(III) the Agricultural Development Bank of China;
(ii) state-owned commercial banks, including--
(I) the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China;
(II) the Agricultural Bank of China;
(III) the China Construction Bank;
(IV) the Bank of Communications Limited; and
(V) the Bank of China;
(iii) sovereign wealth funds, including--
(I) the China Investment Corporation;
(II) China Life Insurance Company;
(III) the China National Social Security Fund; and
(IV) the Silk Road Fund;
(iv) urban commercial banks; and
(v) rural financial institutions; and
(B) international financing institutions, including--
(i) the World Bank Group;
(ii) the Asian Development Bank;
(iii) the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; and
(iv) the New Development Bank; and
(C) any other financial institution or entity the China
Country Officer deems appropriate;
(3) the identification of the infrastructure projects
referred to in paragraph (2) that are projects under the Belt
and Road Initiative;
(4) any domestic vulnerabilities that the debts referred to
in paragraph (1) could exacerbate in the respective country;
(5) a list of the known or speculated collateral listed by
the respective country for the debts incurred by Belt and
Road Initiative projects referred to in paragraph (2); and
(6) a list of the known or speculated assets owned by
People's Republic of China entities, including
telecommunications and critical infrastructure.
(c) Submission and Distribution of Report.--
(1) Initial submission.--Not later than 1 year after the
date on which the Secretary of State issues the directive
described in subsection (a), the Chief of Mission in each
country shall submit the report required under subsection (a)
to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
(2) Distribution.--The Under Secretary shall prepare and
distribute a report that includes all of the information from
the individual country reports received pursuant to paragraph
(1) to--
(A) the heads of other Bureaus and agencies of the
Department of State, as appropriate;
(B) the United States International Development Finance
Corporation;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(E) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
(G) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(H) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(I) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives; and
(J) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 1284. NOTIFICATION OF FUTURE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE
PROJECTS.
After the reports required under section 1283 have been
prepared and submitted, the Secretary of State shall require
that each Country China Officer notify the Chief of Mission
of the respective Embassy and the China Desk at the
Department of State of any project described in section
1283(b)(2) not later than 30 days after the date on which the
Country China Officer is made aware of such project.
SEC. 1285. ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF BELT AND ROAD
INITIATIVE PROJECTS.
(a) In General.--In addition to the reports required under
section 1283 and the notifications required under section
1284, each Country China Officer shall submit an annual
report to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs,
through the Chief of Mission that contains all of findings
relating to Belt and Road Initiative projects described in
section 1283(b)(2) in the respective country during the 12-
month reporting period.
(b) Distribution.--The Under Secretary shall prepare and
distribute an annual report containing all of the information
from the reports received pursuant to subsection (a) to the
recipients described in section 1283(c)(2).
SEC. 1286. ANNUAL STRATEGY TO COUNTER THE INFLUENCE OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) In General.--The Country China Officer at each
respective embassy, in consultation with the Chief of Mission
for the respective country, shall develop a comprehensive,
country-specific strategy to counter the influence of the
People's Republic of China within their country of
responsibility.
(b) Use of Strategy.--The strategy developed pursuant to
subsection (a) shall be used to equip all personnel across
all embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic posts in the
respective country of responsibility to effectively counter
the influence of the People's Republic of China in their
respective context and country of responsibility.
(c) Submission.--The Chief of Mission shall submit an
annual report to the Under Secretary of State for Political
Affairs that--
(1) describes the implementation of the strategy developed
pursuant to subsection (a) during the reporting period; and
(2) assesses specific challenges and opportunities relating
to the People's Republic of China in the respective country
of responsibility.
(d) Distribution.--The Under Secretary shall submit an
annual report that summarizes the information contained in
the reports received pursuant to subsection (c) to the heads
of the Bureaus of the Department of State, as appropriate.
SEC. 1287. PROCUREMENT PROJECTIONS.
(a) Annual Report.--The Country China Officer at each
respective embassy, in consultation with other embassy
personnel, shall submit an annual report to the Under
Secretary of State for Political Affairs that--
(1) describes the procurement and infrastructure needs of
their respective country of responsibility; and
(2) assesses specific challenges and opportunities relating
to potential financing by the People's Republic of China for
procurement and infrastructure projects to meet such needs.
(b) Distribution.--The Under Secretary shall submit an
annual report that summarizes the information contained in
the reports received pursuant to subsection (a) to--
(1) the heads of the Bureaus of the Department of State, as
appropriate; and
(2) the United States International Development Finance
Corporation.
SEC. 1288. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE.
It is the sense of Congress that, as the People's Republic
of China's influence grows through infrastructure
(particularly infrastructure that can easily be shifted from
economic to military uses), the United States International
Development Finance Corporation should prioritize providing
alternative financing opportunities that increase port and
air field capacity of countries that--
(1) meet the investment criteria set forth in the BUILD Act
of 2018 (division F of Public Law 115-254); and
(2) are targets of the predatory infrastructure development
scheme of the People's Republic of China commonly known as
the Belt and Road Initiative.
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