© washingtontimes.com
"China has only become emboldened and now may be the pre-eminent threat to American security, our economy and our values," Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California) said at the hearing on Thursday, even as US and Chinese diplomats began a second round of negotiations to stave off a trade war.
Ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) agreed, saying he hoped there would be more public hearings about China.
"We need to consider that the military challenge is part of a larger national strategy by China to project its power and to secure its national interests by whatever means necessary," Schiff said, adding that this included sales of "potentially compromising" telecommunications equipment by companies like ZTE and Huawei.
Nunes is planning a series of hearings on China in the coming weeks, focusing on a variety of threats to the US, such as "aggressive territorial claims, unfair trade policies, espionage and cyber-attacks," he told the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday.
Comment: Not so surprising the House Intelligence Committee members are in near agreement on its China focus. The year-plus division amongst them, given Russiagate and the DNC mess, has extracted a toll. Therefore, a cause they can unify against is just the ticket -- even if it means attributing common US tactics and maneuvers to China. At least everyone on the unintelligent committee are intrinsically familiar with the perceived motivations, ploys and results.