Washington, Noting that China is experiencing a dramatic slowdown in its economy, an influential congressman said Wednesday that Beijing has two paths forward: continue its aggression against its neighbors or reform its economy and reduce aggression.
"Basically, China is experiencing a dramatic slowdown of its economy to the point that it could be on the verge of deflation in certain sectors of the economy. Consumer confidence has faded. We are seeing youth unemployment of more than 25 percent." percent in a country with a one-child policy for decades. That's a very, very bad statistic," Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said in an interview.
"It has accumulated enormous debt, especially at the provincial and local levels, and then people's net worth, which is mainly invested in real estate, has dropped significantly. So right now, Xi Jinping, the supreme leader, is in a position where his populist is experiencing severe economic hardship," he said. Krishnamoorthi, a four-term congressman representing Illinois' 8th Congressional District, is the ranking member of the House Select Committee on U.S. Strategic Competition. and the Chinese Communist Party.
He said Xi Jinping has two options. "Or, on the one hand, continue on the current course, which is to increase economic aggression, increase technological and military aggression towards neighbors, suppress ascendancy, quell animal spirits in the economy, exerting greater control over almost all sectors of the economy and life in China, that is the current direction," he said.
"Or you can take a different tactic, which is to reduce aggression, reduce saber rattling, loosen control, allow entrepreneurship to flourish again. Also, when you reduce aggression, you reduce saber rattling, and you also reduce countermeasures that other countries, including the United States, because of its saber rattling and its aggression, will also attract foreign investments and so on. That is the option you have," Krishnamoorthi said. The China committee, he said, focuses on a couple. of things. "One, the nature of economic, technological and military aggression, and the challenges those risks pose, along with what is done about it and how the strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party is ultimately won." he said.
"I think the committee is actually very bipartisan and collaborative. It is perhaps one of the most serious, productive and certainly bipartisan committees in Congress right now. So I think we want to maintain that spirit and now review several pieces of legislation to address those risks that I talked about before.
"Ultimately, it's up to Xi Jinping. If he chooses the last path I talked about instead of continuing with the first, then I think it will allow for greater engagement with other countries and will also affect the work of our committee. But as of" Right now we have to deal with the cards that have been constructed," Krishnamoorthi said. China, he said, appears to be choosing the first path. Basically, this is continuing with the status quo and continuing the aggression that characterizes economic policy, technology and national security of China.
"If we look at military aggression, we look at the South China Sea, which the CCP claims as its own lake. Essentially, this is a huge chunk of ocean and they basically claim it as their own and there is no international court, no law, no" "The international forum recognizes their claims, but they must persist in this absurd claim that the South China Sea belongs to them and, as a consequence, these quite serious security outbreaks occur in different parts of that world," he said.
"So, for example, in Second Thomas Shoal, which is about 100 or 200 miles off the coast of the Philippines, which the Philippines claims as its own exclusive economic zone, which is true according to the law, according to international law, the Chinese They're routinely ramming ships, boarding a ship with knives, clubs and other types of tools of war, and a Filipino sailor was almost killed. So this is the kind of unnecessary aggression, along with all the other things they're doing with Taiwan. and other countries, that's unnecessary, that could really become something very serious," Krishnamoorthi said. "I don't need to tell you on the Indian border what has happened at some of the highest altitudes in the world. And yet, they persist. in that area too. I think all their neighbors feel that the PCC does not understand that their differences are resolved peacefully and not by force, and as a consequence, they are taking measures, they are taking countermeasures," he stated.
Responding to a question, Krishnamoorthi said the Chinese are baffled when multilateral institutions or groups of countries come together to assert their rights. "I think that has to happen more and more. We need to establish international rules so that orders are not changed by invading other countries, as Russia did with Ukraine. Ships are not rammed in waters after committing false acts. They claim territories that do not belong to them. belong," he said.
"Basically, China is experiencing a dramatic slowdown of its economy to the point that it could be on the verge of deflation in certain sectors of the economy. Consumer confidence has faded. We are seeing youth unemployment of more than 25 percent." percent in a country with a one-child policy for decades. That's a very, very bad statistic," Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said in an interview.
"It has accumulated enormous debt, especially at the provincial and local levels, and then people's net worth, which is mainly invested in real estate, has dropped significantly. So right now, Xi Jinping, the supreme leader, is in a position where his populist is experiencing severe economic hardship," he said. Krishnamoorthi, a four-term congressman representing Illinois' 8th Congressional District, is the ranking member of the House Select Committee on U.S. Strategic Competition. and the Chinese Communist Party.
He said Xi Jinping has two options. "Or, on the one hand, continue on the current course, which is to increase economic aggression, increase technological and military aggression towards neighbors, suppress ascendancy, quell animal spirits in the economy, exerting greater control over almost all sectors of the economy and life in China, that is the current direction," he said.
"Or you can take a different tactic, which is to reduce aggression, reduce saber rattling, loosen control, allow entrepreneurship to flourish again. Also, when you reduce aggression, you reduce saber rattling, and you also reduce countermeasures that other countries, including the United States, because of its saber rattling and its aggression, will also attract foreign investments and so on. That is the option you have," Krishnamoorthi said. The China committee, he said, focuses on a couple. of things. "One, the nature of economic, technological and military aggression, and the challenges those risks pose, along with what is done about it and how the strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party is ultimately won." he said.
"I think the committee is actually very bipartisan and collaborative. It is perhaps one of the most serious, productive and certainly bipartisan committees in Congress right now. So I think we want to maintain that spirit and now review several pieces of legislation to address those risks that I talked about before.
"Ultimately, it's up to Xi Jinping. If he chooses the last path I talked about instead of continuing with the first, then I think it will allow for greater engagement with other countries and will also affect the work of our committee. But as of" Right now we have to deal with the cards that have been constructed," Krishnamoorthi said. China, he said, appears to be choosing the first path. Basically, this is continuing with the status quo and continuing the aggression that characterizes economic policy, technology and national security of China.
"If we look at military aggression, we look at the South China Sea, which the CCP claims as its own lake. Essentially, this is a huge chunk of ocean and they basically claim it as their own and there is no international court, no law, no" "The international forum recognizes their claims, but they must persist in this absurd claim that the South China Sea belongs to them and, as a consequence, these quite serious security outbreaks occur in different parts of that world," he said.
"So, for example, in Second Thomas Shoal, which is about 100 or 200 miles off the coast of the Philippines, which the Philippines claims as its own exclusive economic zone, which is true according to the law, according to international law, the Chinese They're routinely ramming ships, boarding a ship with knives, clubs and other types of tools of war, and a Filipino sailor was almost killed. So this is the kind of unnecessary aggression, along with all the other things they're doing with Taiwan. and other countries, that's unnecessary, that could really become something very serious," Krishnamoorthi said. "I don't need to tell you on the Indian border what has happened at some of the highest altitudes in the world. And yet, they persist. in that area too. I think all their neighbors feel that the PCC does not understand that their differences are resolved peacefully and not by force, and as a consequence, they are taking measures, they are taking countermeasures," he stated.
Responding to a question, Krishnamoorthi said the Chinese are baffled when multilateral institutions or groups of countries come together to assert their rights. "I think that has to happen more and more. We need to establish international rules so that orders are not changed by invading other countries, as Russia did with Ukraine. Ships are not rammed in waters after committing false acts. They claim territories that do not belong to them. belong," he said.
