3 minute read
Foreign Affairs
EMEL AKAN is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times in Washington, D.C. Previously she worked in the financial sector as an investment banker at JPMorgan. Emel Akan
The relationship between China and Russia reached new heights in February when Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics and announced a “no limits” partnership. The move came just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“This was the beginning of the unholy alliance, where they started to talk about unlimited partnership,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told Insight on March 24 at the Republican retreat in Florida.
McCaul, who is the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the new partnership “very disturbing.”
Following the meeting in Beijing, the two leaders released a 5,000-plusword statement presenting a united front against the West. The Chinese regime endorsed Russia’s opposition to NATO expansion, and the Kremlin affirmed its support for Beijing’s stance on Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views Taiwan as its own territory and hasn’t renounced the use of force to annex the self-ruled island.
Since the invasion, Beijing has refused to denounce Moscow’s aggression and has reaffirmed that Russia is China’s “most important strategic partner.”
“I’ve been very worried that Putin has always wanted Ukraine, and Chairman Xi has always wanted Taiwan,” said McCaul, who also leads the House Republicans’ China Accountability task force.
Watching how Putin’s war on Ukraine unfolds and his miscalculations, however, may have a negative impact on Xi’s calculus, he noted.
President Joe Biden told the Chinese leader on March 14 that there would be “consequences” if Beijing gave material support to Russia as it attacks Ukraine. Biden’s warning came after U.S. officials said Beijing had signaled a willingness to provide military and economic aid to Russia. Both countries have denied this.
Despite U.S. warnings, Beijing is still participating in Russian propaganda and disinformation activities and helping Moscow skirt economic sanctions, McCaul said.
“They’re very deceptive. They’re going to play the game in order to have Russia on their side in the event they decide to invade Taiwan,” he said.
Taiwan has been on high alert since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, concerned that China will follow suit.
Taiwan is vital to America’s economic and national security interests, experts say. The democratic island is an unmatched leader in the semiconductor industry, accounting for 92 percent of the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing capacity.
House Republicans believe the United States should learn from the invasion of Ukraine and use those lessons to safeguard Taiwan against a Chinese attack.
During a press conference at the Republican retreat, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy identified “two biggest threats” to the United States: national debt and China. Increasing arms sales to Taiwan was one of the proposals discussed at the retreat.
Taiwan, according to McCaul, has to improve its asymmetric warfare capabilities as its military power is disproportionate to China’s. This means investing in more anti-ship and anti-aircraft mines. In addition, the United States and its allies should deter China’s use of force in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
One of the key policy issues covered at this year’s GOP retreat was “China accountability.” If House Republicans reclaim control of the chamber in this year’s midterm elections, they promise to hold China accountable on a variety of matters, including the origins of COVID-19.
When Republicans regain the majority, they’ll have subpoena power to request a full investigation of COVID19’s origins, McCaul said, criticizing Democrats’ reluctance to take action on this matter.
“We’re not going to change the past. But it’s important we have transparency to change the future. We don’t want this to happen again. And I do think there’s an accountability issue here,” McCaul said.
In September 2020, McCaul and his colleagues released a 90-page report detailing an investigation into the origins of the virus and the CCP’s cover-up. The GOP investigation focused on whether the virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.
“We want to get to the bottom of what happened not to be vengeful, but we need to know the truth about what happened that has killed millions of people around the world,” McCaul said.
