The U.S. House of Representatives is set to begin its fall session with a strong focus on China-related legislation during a designated "China Week." Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republican leadership have introduced more than 30 bills aimed at safeguarding U.S. interests from perceived threats posed by China, including protecting American farmland, trade secrets, critical infrastructure, and advanced technology.
Prior to the summer recess, Johnson expressed his intent at the Hudson Institute to have a substantial package of China-related legislation signed into law by the end of the year, citing China as "the greatest threat to global peace." The bills being proposed address a range of issues that have garnered bipartisan consensus, as Republicans hope to pass noncontroversial measures in the lead-up to the November presidential election. The fast-tracking process they plan to use will limit debate and require a two-thirds majority vote on the House floor, although the chances of these bills passing in the Democratic-majority Senate remain uncertain.
Among the proposed legislation are measures targeting China's actions related to Taiwan, the Ukraine war, election interference, and exploitation of U.S. tax credits. For example, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) has introduced a bill requiring the Department of Treasury to track the financial assets of Chinese officials involved in aggression toward Taiwan. Additionally, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) is pushing for a State Department report on China's evasion of sanctions, and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) has put forward a bill to restrict foreign access to U.S. cloud computing services under export control to prevent technology theft.
Concerns over Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland are also central to the legislative efforts. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) has introduced a bill to include the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, emphasizing that "food security is national security." His proposal aims to address gaps in data collection on Chinese land purchases, as highlighted in a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report.
Other bills focus on combating Chinese interference in U.S. elections and addressing the presence of Chinese influence on American college campuses. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) has proposed banning colleges that receive Chinese funding from obtaining Department of Homeland Security grants, citing concerns about espionage and propaganda. Additionally, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) is seeking to prevent tax-exempt organizations that accept money from China from funding political activities, stressing the need to close loopholes that allow foreign adversaries to disrupt the U.S. electoral process.
Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) has introduced legislation to block Chinese firms from applying for manufacturing tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, with the goal of preventing China from benefiting from U.S. renewable energy initiatives.
Overall, the "China Week" agenda reflects a concerted effort by House Republicans to address a wide range of national security concerns related to China, though the legislative path forward remains complex and uncertain, especially in the Senate.