US lawmakers to probe China’s reach in Europe
Washington: A congressional hearing has been called next week to examine what organisers describe as China’s expanding reach into Europe’s economic sectors, public institutions, and research fields, and the risks it poses to US strategic interests and the NATO alliance.
The hearing, titled “Responding to China’s Infiltration and Coercion in Europe”, scheduled for March 4, has been convened by the independent Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the US Helsinki Commission.
Witnesses listed for the hearing include Vidmantas Verbickas, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania; Audrye Wong, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Valbona Zeneli, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
They are expected to discuss “the role the United States can play to support our allies in hardening their systems against the threats China poses to collective security” and in “creating a more unified global deterrent to China and its authoritarian partners.”
While US allies in Europe have spent recent years prioritising Russia’s aggression, “they have allowed another authoritarian power to take hold in key economic sectors, public institutions, and research fields,” a media release said.
The material states that for China, sustaining Russia’s war on Ukraine is “one piece of a broader campaign to weaken and mould Europe to its vision.”
It adds that Beijing relies on multiple methods, “ranging from covert political influence to predatory industrial policy to transnational repression,” tailoring its approach “to each country and institution it targets.”
Organisers warn that “allowing China, aided by a belligerent Russia, to capitalise on seams in the transatlantic relationship and assert itself in Europe” threatens “both US strategic interests and the NATO alliance.”
The hearing will assess China’s “growing access to key sectors, governments, and institutions throughout Europe,” and examine US strategic interests in “interrupting this trend.”
The Helsinki Commission said many European countries are “only slowly recognising that Chinese interest and investment must be met with caution,” warning that such engagement “often comes with downsides for national security, sovereignty, and rule of law.”
It further states that countries which experienced Russian occupation are “most attuned to the risks of allowing another authoritarian power into their midst.”
These countries, it says, “can serve as a model for Europe in implementing policies that protect Europeans from the complications of Chinese investment and influence.”