In 2000, Congress established the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission to provide a bipartisan annual review of US-China relations and offer recommendations to Congress. This year, the commission’s report highlighted the increasing urgency of recalibrating the relationship. 

Two of the commissioners, Randy Schriver and Kimberly Glas, talked to Federal Newswire about challenges the China relationship poses for the U.S. Schriver chairs the Project 2049 Institute, and is a partner at Pacific Solutions LLC as well as a lecturer for Stanford University’s Washington program. Glas is the president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations, and previously served as executive director for the Blue Green Alliance.

Glas explains the commission’s view of the US relationship with China, its largest and most capable adversary. “There’s an acute sense of urgency that the commission reviews,” she says. “It provides analysis, but also provides a hearty recommendation to members of Congress in order to recalibrate this emerging threat.”

The commission’s findings are more relevant than ever, especially with the rising concerns about China's global influence. Glas notes, “This year, we have probably more recommendations from the commission than previous years on economic and national security legislation that Congress should immediately propose, and act and do.” 

The recommendations have often found their way into public discourse, executive orders, or even legislative proposals. Glas points out that a new select committee in Congress related to China was set up to examine some of the issues. “They’ve been doing hearings around some of the topics that we have recommended in the past,” she says.

Schriver highlights the commission’s report on emerging Chinese military strategies, particularly its relationship with Taiwan. “We wanted to unpack that in a more sophisticated way and with deep analysis on particular aspects of Chinese mobilization,” Schriver says. “We wanted to look at whether or not China was moving on to a war footing.”

Another area of concern is China’s increasing role in destabilizing regions outside of the Indo-Pacific, with a special focus on the Middle East. “We uncovered that China is a destabilizing force throughout the region, not only because of its relationship with Iran, but because of the revenue Iran generates from China’s purchase of oil,” Schriver says. He explains that the purchase of Iranian oil helps fund groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. “At every point in the region where there is instability, conflict and violence, you can see a pretty direct link to China,” Schriver concludes.

The commission has also looked into China's growing influence in Latin America. “We now have Western Hemisphere countries who recognize Taiwan, who are now silent on that issue,” she says. “We’ve also examined some of the ways that the Chinese have led predatory contracting in these countries where they’re extracting resources.”

According to Schriver, there is growing awareness of China's predatory economic behavior. “It’s the accumulation of shared experiences where China’s investments and diplomacy were welcomed, but over time, we’ve seen this pattern of predatory economics that has caused a negative impact in many regions.”

The commission’s findings on China’s economic practices are particularly concerning. Glas points to the strategic use of trade loopholes. “One of our commission recommendations examined how the Chinese are using a trade loophole called ‘de minimis’ to get products into the U.S. market duty-free,” she says. She describes this as “a conduit” to bring fentanyl precursors into the United States through Mexico. “That is killing us,” she says.

The commission has reported how fentanyl is being trafficked from China. “It’s one thing to have duty-free trade coming in that kills a manufacturing industry,” Glas says. “it’s a whole other ballgame when it kills a family member.” She calls the matter “an urgent crisis,”  and notes that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) struggles to control the fentanyl flood, despite advances in technology.

Both commissioners support efforts to de-risk the U.S.-China relationship, particularly in the context of Taiwan and other strategic interests. Glas clarifies, “A lot of companies and countries are in general alignment that we need to do everything humanly possible to de-risk and move forward.” She stresses that the risks of continued Chinese influence in global supply chains are growing. Beyond a military perspective “we also have to think about it from an economic standpoint,” Glas says.

Schriver and Glas agree that the U.S. must act swiftly to protect its economic interests and secure its national safety from what they say is an escalating threat posed by China. According to Glas, “Congressional action sometimes is slow,” she says. “But are we moving fast enough to address some of these behaviors and doing the risk analysis we need?”