Rep. Andy Barr’s (R-KY) bill requiring the State Department to submit regular reports to Congress on China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine passed the House on Wednesday afternoon.
The bill, dubbed “Assessing Xi’s Interference and Subversion (AXIS) Act,” would force the Biden administration and future administrations to highlight China’s support for the war and help Congress hold Beijing accountable.
The first report would be required 30 days after the bill’s enactment into law, with further reports every 90 days thereafter.
Barr said in a statement:
The alliance between the Chinese Communist Party and the Russian Kremlin is the new Axis of evil that threatens the United States and the rules-based international order. We need a full report on the extent of the collaboration between Russia and China to inform the public and enable lawmakers to begin positioning the U.S. to overcome this geopolitical challenge.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX) also applauded its passage.
“The Chinese Communist Party has proven it is not willing or capable of acting as a constructive partner in Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Rather, they are complicit. I commend Congressman Barr for introducing this important legislation that will help inform the American people of the extent of this unholy alliance,” he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk to each other during their meeting in Beijing, China, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Beijing for the Winter Olympics and talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, amid soaring tensions with Ukraine. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The bill is part of House Republicans’ efforts to hold China accountable.
Barr is an original member of the Republican-led China Task Force and serves on the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation.
China has not explicitly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, China and Russia released a joint statement proclaiming that the two countries had a partnership with “no limits.”
China has tacitly supported Russia’s invasion by striking a deal to import natural gas from Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom, and abstained from a United Nations resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
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