Senate Committee Examines Challenges of US-China Policy in Wake of Balloon Incident

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Tokyo, Japan, on July 20, 2021. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

As Beijing’s subversive role in the internal affairs of rival powers comes to occupy the world’s attention in the light of revelations following the downing of a spy balloon in American airspace over the weekend, law enforcement agencies and human rights advocates must look more closely into the role of so-called police stations established by China in foreign jurisdictions, as well as the persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang whose relatives publicly advocate for rights and freedoms.

That’s the view of Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who offered testimony at a Thursday hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “Evaluating U.S.-China Policy in the Era of Strategic Competition.” Also providing testimony was Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.

The hearing fell just days after the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina after it had crossed the United States, in an incident that drew international attention and shocked observers who were unaware of the scope of China’s foreign espionage activities.

Two days before the Senate committee hearing, a panel convened by the House Financial Services Committee commented extensively on the incident and its implications for efforts to counter the economic threat from China.

Also on Feb. 9, the House of Representatives voted, 419–0, to approve a strongly worded resolution condemning Beijing’s deployment of the spy balloon.

Sherman praised the U.S. military for shooting down the balloon without any collateral civilian injuries and said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made the right move in announcing the postponement of a planned diplomatic trip to Beijing in the wake of the incident.

“Last week, the American people saw the latest example of that reality as the U.S. government ... shot down the balloon that had entered our territorial airspace in clear violation of our sovereignty and international law. The Biden-Harris administration responded swiftly to protect Americans and safeguard against the balloon’s collection of sensitive information,” she said.

“Our response to this incident reaffirmed our core priorities. As the president said Tuesday evening [during his State of the Union address], we will always act decisively to protect the American people,” she continued.

Wide-Ranging Threats

In her testimony, Sherman outlined an extensive campaign of aggression and subversion on the part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), taking myriad forms domestically and abroad.

“The PRC is the only competitor with the intent and means to reshape the international order, a fact borne out by the PRC’s provocations in the South China Sea, its human rights abuses, its use of economic coercion, its threatening behavior in Taiwan, and what we just witnessed” during the balloon incident, said Sherman.

Sherman sounded a positive note on the breadth of international cooperation in the face of the threat from China, noting that the G-7 nations and the European Union are largely aligned with the United States on the issue and tend to share information with one another as needed.

But her testimony became nuanced as she contrasted the progress made in countering some of the economic and security threats from China with the significant work still undone.

Sherman praised the progress made in reducing the number and influence of so-called Confucius Institutes on American campuses. In theory, these organizations serve a soft purpose as transmitters of awareness and education about China’s languages, history, and cultural heritage, but their role in supporting pro-CCP propaganda has been extensively documented.

According to Sherman, the number of Confucius Institutes in America reached one hundred in 2018, but since then the number has declined rapidly and now there are only 15 in operation, a change that Sherman attributed largely to the vigilance of her colleagues in the government.

“Putting a spot light on these issues is very critical—putting pressure on universities to understand what’s happening and what they’re doing—so I greatly appreciate the work that was done by this Congress and by the State Department, to put a spotlight on the Confucian centers,” she said.

Cultural Diffusion

In tandem with these efforts, Sherman stressed the need to implement proper screening of Chinese exchange students to thwart any espionage undertaken with the pretense of studying in America.

“We have, I think, over 290,000 Chinese students who come to American universities. We are very careful about looking at visas,” she said.

Sherman did not discount the importance of legitimate cultural exchange and emphasized that the relationship ought to be reciprocal.

“It is very important that we not close down these people-to-people exchanges. On the other hand, we probably only have about 385 Americans who are studying in China. We probably need to do something to increase the number,” she stated.

Noting the recent spike in reports of hate crimes against Asians, Sherman emphasized the need to make it exceedingly clear that efforts to thwart aggression coming from China are directed against the CCP and the regime in Beijing, not ordinary Chinese.

“We have to be very careful, as we put a spotlight on China, that we not increase hate,” she said.

While progress in exposing the role of Confucius Institutes and cutting down their number may be commendable, Sherman emphasized that urgent work remains to be done in addressing another threat, namely, the proliferation of so-called police stations in Chinese diaspora communities. Their real function, she said, is often to persecute Uyghurs who oppose Beijing’s myriad abuses.

“What they are [doing] is policing the diaspora Uyghurs and others in the Chinese orbit, harassing them, putting them at great risk. We are working closely to make sure that China cannot reach into the United States,” she said.

Sherman cited as one of the fruits of this effort the closing of a Chinese police station in New York City last month. While Sherman and her colleagues are working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to counter the threat, there is still work to be done here, she acknowledged.

Sherman vowed a sustained international effort on this front along with numerous others.

“We will continue to oppose Beijing’s unlawful acts in the South China Sea, support the people of Hong Kong, and do everything possible to bring home unjustly detained Americans. We will continue to warn the PRC against providing military support to Russia, and address the PRC’s transnational repression. We will continue to prevent the PRC’s exploitation of U.S. technology to enable its own military modernization. We will keep pushing back against the PRC’s aggressive military, economic, and diplomatic practices,” Sherman said. PRC stands for the People’s Republic of China.

“We will stand unified in the face of this challenge. We are not where we need to be yet, but I believe we are changing our approach,” she added.

Growing Alliances

Underscoring Sherman’s points about the international campaign against PRC and CCP aggression, Ratner said that the State Department’s already robust efforts to rally like-minded nations in this cause will grow stronger still.

“Let me underscore the department’s view that today the deterrent is strong and that these efforts will play an essential role in sustaining and further strengthening deterrence in the years ahead,” he said.

Ratner praised the recent U.S. approval of Japan’s move to ramp up the offensive capabilities of a military that has long been constrained by the postwar Japanese constitution.

“With Japan, we have expressed our support for Tokyo’s decision to acquire new capabilities that will strengthen regional deterrence, especially counter-strike capabilities,” he said.

Ratner also cited U.S. efforts to encourage Australia to acquire a nuclear submarine with conventional offensive capabilities, as well as the consolidation of military and diplomatic ties with other nations in the Indo-Pacific opposed to Beijing’s regional hegemony, such as India, the Philippines, and, of course, Taiwan.

“I’ll conclude today by noting the powerful bipartisan consensus that has emerged around the China challenge and the commensurate need for the U.S. government to focus its time, energy, and resources on the Indo-Pacific region,” Ratner said.