[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.
                                 ______