WASHINGTON—The leading congressman of a House panel on China says he will bring back a bill to control U.S. investment in China, adding that he has faith most Americans will “do the right thing” upon realizing the stakes at hand.
Shortly after that, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Wis.) introduced another bill, the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act, in a bid to restrict U.S. dollars from funding critical Chinese military and technological development or human rights abuses.
“We were very close to getting outbound investment legislation through in the last few weeks of the last Congress,” Moolenaar said during a Feb. 11 fireside chat at the Institute of World Politics, a private graduate school that focuses on national security, intelligence, and international affairs.
“It’s going to be reintroduced, and we’re going to work very hard to move that forward.”
Moolenaar said he had observed the power of Chinese money.
“It was quite remarkable,” said Moolenaar. “You realize that the Chinese Communist Party has figured out a way to use our system against us, whether it’s the, you know, petitioning the government or lawfare,” he said.
“They’re very strategic in that regard.”
Financial incentives have also led a number of American corporations to lobby on Beijing’s behalf so that they can gain a share in the Chinese market, and resisting such lobbying power will “take a lot of political will,” said Moolenaar.
“Money is very tempting for people, but I also recognize that, you know, people love the freedoms that we have in this country,” he said. “When they realize the threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses to our way of life…I think it will bring more people on board to say, ‘Okay, let’s figure out what to do best for America.’”
Moolenaar said Congress needs to play a part in driving the change. He recalled interacting with a business leader who has a sizable investment in China.
“[The business leader] was asked the question, ‘How would you respond if you were asked if there’s a genocide going on in China against the Uyghur Muslims?’” Moolenaar recalled. He said the businessman “sort of squirmed” and said he hoped he “wouldn’t get asked that question.”
He said he wants to call out such behaviors, adding that he hopes to give U.S. businesses options to move their supply chains from China to allied countries.
Moolenaar said that he was “not convinced” that tech mogul Elon Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump’s, who weighed in through posts on X against several measures in December’s omnibus bill, had a role in blocking the particular outbound investment legislation.
After the United States, China is the second largest market for Musk’s electric car maker, Tesla, and the company just opened a $200 million battery plant in Shanghai, next to its carmaking facility.
“We had different committees of jurisdiction that had different viewpoints, and we were trying to do one thing, and the Senate was trying to do another thing, and it was kind of in the final week,” Moolenaar said.
He said he intends to work with the Senate and the White House to advance investment restrictions and other China policies.
The lawmaker praised key Trump Cabinet members, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, for understanding the threats coming from China.
“We just have to make sure we get the right policy in place, and then the markets have to adjust to that.”
