[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6894-S6895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
China
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, Joseph Stalin was rumored to have once
said:
We will hang the capitalists with the rope they sell us.
Unfortunately, the United States has been selling the Chinese
Communist Party a lot of rope in recent years. At this very moment,
American entities are fueling China's aggression by funneling huge
amounts of capital into capabilities that could eventually be used
against the United States and our allies. From advanced semiconductors
to quantum computing to artificial intelligence it is high time that
the United States becomes serious about limiting the flow of U.S.
dollars into the arsenal of our biggest strategic adversary.
By some estimates, U.S. investments in Chinese communities totaled
more than $2.3 trillion in market value in 2020. That is American
investments in Chinese companies--$2.3 trillion in market value at the
end of 2020. That includes $21 billion in semiconductors, $54 billion
in military companies, and a whopping $221 billion in artificial
intelligence. According to a report from the U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission, ``The United States is the most important
foreign source of investment to semiconductors, quantum computing, and
AI in China.''
Because of China's strategy of military-civil fusion, these
investments are not simply benefiting China's economy; they are
directly bolstering China's military. China is the greatest national
security threat of our time. I think we all understand that, and it is
incomprehensible to me that American investors are continuing to
bankroll its rise, and we are essentially blind to what that scale and
what the focus of those investments really are.
The Chinese Communist Party has become increasingly aggressive in its
efforts to gain power and influence, embracing illicit tactics like
intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, and predatory
lending. According to findings of the House Select Committee on
Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese
Communist Party, China subsidizes the sale of fentanyl and illicit
narcotics abroad and has fueled addiction and death in the United
States. The Drug Enforcement Administration reports that fentanyl is
the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and
45. We know where the precursors are coming from. We know where they
go--to Mexico--and then they are combined and then produced to look
like normal pharmaceutical drugs, much to the chagrin and misery and
death of so many of our young people. And then, 2 years ago, the United
States intercepted a surveillance balloon from China that crossed
across our country.
Meanwhile the Chinese Communist Party continues to assert excessive
and illegal maritime boundary claims in the South China Sea, at times
using force against our treaty ally, the Philippines, when they have
attempted to resupply their ship near the Second Thomas Shoal.
President Xi has ordered the Chinese military to be ready and capable
of taking Taiwan by force in 2027--just 2 years from now.
So it should go without saying that the United States should exercise
caution before continuing to sell the Chinese Communist Party rope in
the form of sensitive technology, like advanced semiconductors and
artificial intelligence.
I have been working with my colleagues here to address legislation
that would provide some transparency for this outbound investment from
the United States to the PRC. Last year, the Senate made good progress
on this issue by including a provision to address outbound investment
transparency in the Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act.
The Senate voted 91 to 6 to include my amendment in the NDAA last year,
showing an overwhelming bipartisan consensus on the need to address
this issue. We all know how hard it is to find consensus around here. A
60-vote threshold can be hard to come by on many important issues, but
upward of 90 votes should send a clear message that this issue is one
that we deem of utmost importance on a bipartisan basis. We all are
acutely aware of our competition with China and our need to counter
some of China's aggression, and including prohibitions on certain
outbound investments is a critical step to that end.
I must say we have had some great partners in the House. I want to
thank, in particular, John Moolenaar, chair of the Select Committee
on the Chinese Communist Party; Congressman Michael McCaul, chair of
the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House; and Speaker of the House of
Representatives Mike Johnson, who have all contributed to our efforts
to advance this issue, but this isn't where the story ends.
The Senate has--or had--another opportunity to include these
provisions in the Defense Authorization Act this year, but House
minority leader Hakeem Jeffries chose to block these provisions. One
person is standing in the way. It is simply unconscionable that anyone
who claims to care about the China threat would be opposed to outbound
investment transparency, and it is unacceptable to play political games
with such an essential national security provision.
I understand, over the last day, Leader Jeffries has listened to the
voice of reason and come back to the negotiating table. And I am
hopeful that these conversations will continue to be productive and
yield a positive outcome. The national security of our country depends
on it, and we must not squander this opportunity to confront the
Chinese Communist Party. Time is running out.
We all know that we are living in the most dangerous time since World
War II. Our adversaries are not shy about the fact that they are
working together. Earlier this year, China and Russia pledged to deepen
their trust and cooperation, while they have continued to conduct joint
military exercises. North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to Russia, and
some intelligence estimates suggest they may be willing
[[Page S6895]]
to provide up to 100,000 soldiers in the coming months, from North
Korea to Russia, to fight in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Iran and its proxies have been attacking U.S. shipments in
the Red Sea and have launched a terrorist attack against our greatest
strategic ally in the Middle East, which is Israel. It is no secret--it
is well-known--that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are working in
concert to undermine American interests and to threaten the stability
of the global world order. So we should not add our name to the list by
helping them with the gift of unrestrained, nontransparent American
investment.
I would urge all of our colleagues to not let politics stand in the
way of our national security. We cannot stand by and continue selling
the communists in China the rope they will use to hang the United
States of America.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to
10 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.