Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concerns about Chinese investment in key U.S. industries. In the letter, Moolenaar emphasizes congressional support for President Trump’s America First Investment Policy and cautions against allowing China greater access to U.S. markets, citing risks related to supply chain control and government-backed advantages for Chinese companies.
“Expanding market access or investment opportunities for Chinese firms in critical manufacturing sectors in the United States should be subject to heightened scrutiny… It would reward firms whose state-backed advantages have caused profound damage to American industry and workers,” Moolenaar writes.
The letter refers to recent actions by the Trump administration aimed at limiting certain Chinese investments, including requiring HieFo Corporation to divest from Emcore Corporation and legal action against Suirui Corporation. Moolenaar argues that Chinese companies benefit from subsidies and protections not available to American firms, which could continue if these companies are allowed further entry into U.S. markets.
He further states: “Expanded access to the American market would provide China commercial relief at a moment of internal strain and allow Chinese firms to preserve overcapacity that market forces would otherwise discipline. It would be tantamount to awarding a building reconstruction contract to the very arsonist who burned down the building in the first place.”
Moolenaar points out China’s dominance in lithium-ion battery technology due to sustained state support and procurement policies. He notes that current administration policy uses legal measures such as CFIUS authorities to restrict investments by People’s Republic of China-affiliated entities in critical technologies and infrastructure. “Granting expanded U.S. access to Chinese battery firms would run counter to stated policy and undermine foreign entity of concern guardrails and domestic content incentives now being implemented by the Administration. Furthermore, it would undercut emerging American competitors and destabilize new capacity investments by trusted allies competing against China’s state-backed practices,” he says.
Addressing the automotive sector, Moolenaar claims that protected domestic markets and state capital have allowed Chinese automakers cost advantages unrelated to true market competition. He warns: “China’s domestic price wars and race-to-the-bottom style ‘involution’ have distorted world markets. Allowing Chinese automakers to establish footholds in U.S. production or technology partnerships would import Chinese distortions directly into the American industrial base. It would also place American automakers and their workers, concentrated in communities across Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, in direct competition with firms that have no need to compete on genuine market disciplines.”
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for examining economic and security challenges posed by China while developing policy recommendations according to its official website (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/). The committee also proposes legislation intended to boost U.S. competitiveness against China (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/), operating as a bipartisan group within the House of Representatives (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/).
Read the full letter here.
