President Biden must get serious about China’s South American ambitions
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is undertaking a new and troubling bullying campaign. This time, they are targeting our neighbors in South America with strategic initiatives that have major economic and national security implications for the United States and my home state of California. The United States cannot sit idly by while a strategic adversary like the CCP expands its political and economic influence over countries in our backyard at the expense of U.S. strategic goals.
In Peru, for example, the CCP is using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to build a port they call “the gateway from South America to Asia.” This new port could be partly operational by the end of the year. Not only will this give the CCP a troubling level of new influence in our hemisphere, but it will also be a direct competitor to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are currently the top ports for imports.
In September, I wrote a letter to President Biden explaining the dangerous nature of a recent vote by the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) to expel Taiwan from its role as a permanent observer. I cautioned President Biden that it will take bipartisan leadership to stop the decline of U.S. influence in Central and South America and invited him to join my bipartisan effort to strengthen our trade relationships and secure supply chains. My offer to the president still stands. Improving economic relations and protecting our trade systems from foreign adversaries are too important for partisanship.
The CCP is using state-owned enterprises to take over supply chains and cut off our influence across South America. In 2021, these companies invested $11.3 billion on energy and infrastructure projects across the continent. These investments are giving the CCP increasing control of global supply chains and critical minerals that are essential to innovation.
The CCP isn’t making these investments out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re doing it to serve their own interests. There are countless accounts of the CCP employing forced labor — including children — to mine critical minerals. These same minerals are being sold in electric batteries around the world. The CCP is also turning a blind eye to environmental standards that is having negative impacts within China and across the world — especially in BRI countries. Recently a major landslide in a tunnel at the Prue Port left residents and local fishing industries worried about their community and way of life. Make no mistake, the CCP’s disregard for international standards is to blame for this disaster.
Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP), which was set up by President Biden, is designed to provide a new framework for economic partnership in the Americas. Like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), these new efforts lack meaningful advancement and trade pillars necessary to bring real economic investment to the region.
As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Select Committee on the CCP, I know there is bipartisan leadership in Congress who stand ready to revive trade and increase U.S. engagement in the Western Hemisphere to ensure regional peace and stability. This bipartisan leadership was on display last year when Congress overwhelmingly passed the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act.
Unfortunately, the current administration has not shown such leadership. In fact, the president’s policies and lack of direction send mixed messages to our enemies and our allies alike, risking even further lost ground to the CCP. A course correction is possible, but it requires engagement from this president.
I urge the Biden administration to work with Congress to build on our successes in this area and address the serious threats we still face.
Michelle Steel represents California’s 45th District in the House of Representatives. She is a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the Selected Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
Date: | |
Tag: | Joe Biden |
Filter
-
China Is Finally Getting Serious About a Housing Rescue
Beijing has announced a plan to clear the backlog of unsold homes, but questions remain over the scale and financing of the program.The Wall Street Journal - World - China -
Biden's Voldemortian theory of privilege: The president whose voice must not be heard
It appears that Joe Biden is "he who must not be heard."The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden -
Musk Pushes Plan for China Data to Power Tesla's AI Ambitions
A data center in Chinato teach AI models for self-driving technology using data that could be processed in the countrycould be a big shift for Tesla, or merely a backup plan.Inc. - Business - China -
About That 'Unjust' American Order
Socialists never mention that the alternatives are much, much worse.The Wall Street Journal - World -
Americans are begging for real leadership — it’s time for serious reform
Too often, power is a chess game played by the political parties in charge, and too often, citizens are treated like pawns.The Hill - Politics -
China must learn from Japan’s ‘lost decades’
The consequences of the world’s second-largest economy being sucked into a deflationary spiral would be severeFinancial Times - World - China -
Desperate Biden must debate to win — but there are risks
Trump’s campaign has to guard against dirty tricks.The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden -
Is China's bubble tea bubble about to burst?
Chinese bubble tea shares fizzle, raising questions about the industry and Hong Kong's stock market.BBC News - Top stories - China -
Congress must stop Biden from fueling a Saudi nuclear bomb
If Jake Sullivan and team can pull it off, the mega deal will be billed as bringing peace to the Middle East. If it opens the door to Saudi enrichment, however, the accord will only fuel more chaos and instability.The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden -
Philippine group calls civilian mission in South China Sea a 'major victory'
Yahoo News - World - China
More from The Hill
-
'We need it to be faster,' says Ukraine's ambassador about arms shipments
The Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. urged American leaders on Sunday to speed up shipments of arms and aid to the country as it struggles to defend against the Russian military. “There is no such thing as fast enough when we are up against such a ...The Hill - Politics - Ukraine -
Who is Ebrahim Raisi, the missing president of Iran?
The condition of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi remains unknown Sunday after his helicopter crashed in the rural and mountainous border region between Iran and western Azerbaijan. Iranian state media IRINN reported that the crash site had not yet ...The Hill - Politics -
Several nations offer support, prayers to Iran in wake of president's helicopter crash
Several leaders in Asia and Europe offered their support and prayers to Iran as the country continues rescue operations for a helicopter that crashed while carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday. Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East ...The Hill - Politics - Iran -
White House hits back at Stefanik after she blasts Biden in Israel
The White House hit back against House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) speech before the Israeli government’s legislative body on Sunday, when she attacked President Biden for his policy approach to Israel and the war in ...The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden -
Biden addresses NAACP in Detroit: Watch live
President Biden will give remarks Sunday at a campaign event with the NAACP in Detroit, Mich., following his commencement speech at Morehouse College, where the president made his first appearance on a college campus since the start of the ...The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden