WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to create a select committee on China, using one of its first votes since Republicans took control to underscore members’ desire to counter Beijing’s growing international influence.
The House voted 365 to 65 in favor of a resolution establishing the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party to investigate the issue and make policy recommendations.
All 65 “no” votes came from Democrats, some of whom said they were concerned the Republican-led committee would be too biased. But 146 other Democrats voted yes.
Democratic Representative Jim McGovern, co-chairman of the Congressional Executive Committee on China, a group of House members and senators that studies China policy, said he would vote to create the select committee despite concerns that it could be too biased.
“We certainly don’t want it to turn into a place that perpetuates hatred against Asians,” McGovern said, citing past rhetoric such as Republican former President Donald Trump’s labeling of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy insisted the panel would be non-partisan.
“You have my word and my commitment. This is not a partisan committee. This will be a bipartisan committee,” McCarthy said in a statement urging the House to support the legislation.
He said the committee would address issues such as bringing jobs back from China to the United States, securing intellectual property and bringing supply chains back into the country.
In addition to these issues, there has been friction in US-China relations over the huge trade deficit with China, Chinese pressure on Taiwan and Beijing’s transparency about its handling of COVID-19, which first appeared in that country.
The new committee will be chaired by Republican Representative Mike Gallagher.
Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Jonathan Oatis
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