[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2571-S2572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 386. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 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 the appropriate place in title XII, insert the
following:
Subtitle __--Belt and Road Initiative Oversight
SEC. 12_1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Belt and Road Oversight
Act''.
SEC. 12_2. 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 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 People's Republic of China, including the
Belt and Road Initiative.
(c) Sunset Provision.--The requirement to designate Country
China Officers under subsection (a) shall expire on the date
that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 12_3. 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
assets within their country of operation that are controlled
or financed by the Government of the People's Republic of
China or a state-owned enterprise in the People's Republic of
China. Each such report shall be prepared by a Country China
Officer designated pursuant to section 12_2(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 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; and
(iv) urban commercial banks; and
(v) rural financial institutions; and
(B) international financing institutions, including--
(i) the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; and
(ii) the New Development Bank; and
(C) any other financial institution or entity otherwise
controlled, overseen, or managed by the Government of the
People's Republic of China;
(3) the identification of the infrastructure projects
referred to in paragraph (2) that are projects under the Belt
and Road Initiative;
(4) an assessment of projects that have caused the country
to incur significant debt that has the potential to harm its
economic prosperity and national sovereignty;
(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 (1);
[[Page S2572]]
(6) a list of the known assets owned by the Government of
the People's Republic of China or state-owned enterprises in
the People's Republic of China, including telecommunications
and critical infrastructure; and
(7) a list of known activities at research institutions or
institutions of higher education controlled or financed by
the Government of the People's Republic of China or state-
owned enterprises in the People's Republic of China.
(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. 12_4. NOTIFICATION OF FUTURE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE
PROJECTS.
After the reports required under section 12_3 have been
prepared and submitted, the Secretary of State shall require
the respective Embassy and the China Desk at the Department
of State of any project described in section 12_3(b)(2) not
later than 30 days after the date on which the Country China
Officer is informed of such project.
SEC. 12_5. ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF BELT AND ROAD
INITIATIVE PROJECTS.
During the 10-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of State for
Political Affairs shall submit an annual report to Congress
that--
(1) contains all findings related to projects controlled or
financed by the Government of the People's Republic of China
or state-owned enterprises in the People's Republic of China
submitted by Country China Officers through the process
described in section 12_3(b)(2) during the 12-month reporting
period; and
(2) includes updated findings and analyses related to
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of section 12_3(b).
SEC. 12_6. ANNUAL STRATEGY TO COUNTER PRC INFLUENCE.
(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, including a plan to counter anti-
American messaging by 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 with the tools needed 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, during the 10-year
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act,
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.
(e) Exclusions.--Countries with limited or no investments
by the Government of the People's Republic of China shall be
excluded from the strategy developed pursuant to subsection
(a)
SEC. 12_7. PROCUREMENT PROJECTIONS.
(a) Annual Report.--The Country China Officer at each
respective embassy, in consultation with other embassy
personnel, shall submit, during the 10-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act, 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) other instrumentalities of the Federal Government,
including the United States International Development Finance
Corporation.
SEC. 12_8. 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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