Jason Smith: Biden administration completely out to lunch on holding China accountable

(By Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is quickly rising as one of our nation’s top foreign adversaries. Whether it’s stealing Americans’ intellectual property, collecting large amounts of personal data on families, or sending a spy balloon to collect sensitive information on military sites in Missouri and across our nation, the CCP is doing everything it can to weaken and gain the upper hand over America.

Making matters worse, the Biden administration has been completely out to lunch when it comes to holding China accountable. 

The CCP’s actions led to one of the most bipartisan votes this Congress when House Republicans and Democrats came together to establish the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. The special committee will put focus on the economic and technological challenges posed by China. There’s no question that the additional scrutiny is warranted.

But that’s not all the new House Republican majority is doing to fight back against the CCP. I recently coauthored the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act, legislation that would protect American farmers and our supply chains by banning the purchase of public or private agricultural land in the U.S. by foreign nationals who have ties to the CCP. The CCP has proven time and again that they will seek to leverage any ownership interest they can to weaken America. 

By passing this bill, Congress can ensure the CCP will never be able to turn our farms into weapons to wreak havoc on a critical part of our supply chain.

America can never be dependent on China for our food supply, our energy security, or our medical supplies. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of my top priorities is looking at how we can use trade and tax policy to reduce our trade deficit with China and move our strategic supply chains in these areas out of that country. 

I’ll continue calling on the Biden administration to lay out a clear plan for how our country can maintain our advantages – economically and militarily – so that our freedoms and our economic independence are never threatened by CCP aggression.

Of all of President Joe Biden’s China blunders, nothing is more alarming than his disastrous handling of the Chinese spy balloon incident. It took days for Biden to take down the balloon, and when he did, he shot it down over the Atlantic. That’s the wrong ocean. 

At that point, the balloon had already traveled across most of the central U.S. – including Missouri, which is home to Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood. The path was no accident. This alarming incident could have been prevented if Biden gave the order to shoot down the balloon when it was flying over the Pacific Ocean. 

Adding insult to injury, Biden has kept Americans in the dark over this serious national security issue. I’ll continue pushing this administration for answers and fighting to hold it accountable for putting our national security at risk.

Right now, the CCP is working overtime to strengthen its military, grow its economic influence, and force its communist ideology on democracies across the globe. Our nation cannot stand idly by as our enemies grow stronger and stronger every day. What America needs is for Biden to step up and crack down on China. In Washington, I’ll continue fighting tooth and nail to advance policies that will help ensure America has every advantage over China.