Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) have introduced legislation that would establish a commission tasked with developing a comprehensive whole-of-government approach to the threat the communist regime in Beijing poses to the U.S. economy, security, and foreign relations.
A bipartisan group of 15 senators is co-sponsoring the effort to establish a China Grand Strategy Commission; they intend to add the measure as an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
“At almost every turn, the United States is facing new challenges from an increasingly aggressive China.
The proposed commission would include 18 members from the executive and legislative branches as well as business representatives.
The mission is to “make actionable recommendations to develop a grand strategy across the entire government” that protects and strengthens U.S. national security interests, King said.
The recommendations by the panel would be for the purposes of “ensuring a holistic approach toward the People’s Republic of China across all federal departments and agencies; defining specific steps necessary to build a stable international order that accounts for the People’s Republic of China participation in that order; and providing actionable recommendations with respect to the United States’ relationship with the People’s Republic of China.”
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Cornyn said that the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions paint an alarming picture for U.S. economic and national security.“Confronting threats from China is the greatest security imperative of our generation and a strategic, whole-of-government approach is the only way forward,” he said.
“Over the years, the U.S–China relationship has evolved in ways few could have predicted,” Kaine said.
“A China Grand Strategy Commission would help accomplish [preserving the status of the United States as the world’s preeminent power] by creating a long-term, comprehensive strategy to manage this consequential relationship,” he added.
The proposed commission would have a structure closely modeling that of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which King co-chairs.
According to the statement, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission made more than 80 concrete recommendations for how to improve U.S. national security in cyberspace, more than 85 percent of which are fully or partially implemented or on track for implementation.
Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Young (R-Ind,), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) are co-sponsors of the proposal, according to the statement.
