Jim Banks: Joe Biden ‘Doing Exactly the Opposite’ of Recommendations to Confront China

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), the chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), said during an RSC meeting Thursday the Joe Biden administration “seems to be doing exactly the opposite” of what is needed to confront China.

Banks held his weekly RSC meeting with former Donald Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who explained to the House conservatives how to combat a rising China.

Banks opened the question and answer portion of the meeting, asking what conservatives could do to combat the Chinese Communist Party. He also noted the Biden administration seems to be taking a softer approach towards China.

The Hoosier conservative said:

My first simple question: It seems like the Biden administration is doing exactly the opposite of everything that you just recommended to us. Why is that, and what do we have to do as conservative Republican members in the House to make this issue, to make our efforts to confront the Chinese Communist Party, hold the CCP accountable, what do we have to do to make that a bipartisan issue again because at the moment, the partisan dividing line is as clear ever?

After the RSC meeting, Banks, a member of the Armed Services Committee, introduced five bills to counter the Chinese Communist Party.

The bills would:

1. Give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) the authority to prevent predatory investments of American companies by the Chinese government.
2. The Online Consumer Protection Act prevents downloading any application that would pose a national security risk to the United States without including a warning about the software’s source nation.

“The greatest threat to American freedom and justice is the Chinese Communist Party, which is why I’m proud to advance these five pieces of legislation to protect America’s interests from Beijing,” Banks said in a statement Thursday.

“China is our foremost military adversary, but it also seeks to infiltrate our economy, universities, digital infrastructure, and intelligence agencies,” Banks added. “Congress should be focused on safeguarding each of these American institutions from the Chinese regime.