Congressional Report Flags Major China Threats
TRENDINGPOLITICS
A congressional commission says China is accelerating past the U.S. in key tech sectors — from AI to space and critical supply chains. The report urges Congress to create a new federal agency to combat Beijing’s growing economic and technological influence.
A newly released report from a U.S. congressional commission is sounding alarms about the speed and scope of China’s expansion across technology, space, cyber operations, and global infrastructure — and lawmakers are already being urged to respond with sweeping new powers and a brand-new federal entity designed to counter Beijing’s influence.
The report, issued by the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission, outlines a wide range of emerging risks and predicts that China’s rapid advances in strategic technology could reshape American national security, supply chains, and global economic leverage. Members of the commission warned Congress that the United States is not structurally built to keep up with the scale of the challenge.
Commission Warns: China Is Pulling Ahead in Key Strategic Sectors
The document identifies several areas where China’s influence is growing faster than the U.S. anticipated:
Advanced technology: including semiconductor manufacturing, quantum computing, satellite systems, and next-generation AI
Space capabilities: expanded launch capacity, state-funded global satellite networks, and military-support infrastructure
Critical supply chains: pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals, electric vehicles, and energy storage
Cyber operations: increased sophistication in espionage, commercial data theft, and influence campaigns
Overseas infrastructure: port investments, data cables, and dual-use logistics hubs across Asia, Africa, and South America
According to the commission, China’s government is tightly coordinating these sectors under industrial and military policy programs, while the U.S. system remains siloed and slow to respond.
A Call for a New “Economic Statecraft Entity”
One of the most striking recommendations in the report is the creation of a new federal body the commission calls an “economic statecraft entity.”
This agency would:
Coordinate sanctions and export-control policy
Oversee protection of critical U.S. infrastructure
Manage technology-security decisions across multiple departments
Serve as a centralized intelligence and enforcement hub for economic threats
Run rapid-response teams for supply chain disruptions
In other words, Congress is being urged to build a single, powerful institution dedicated to handling China-related economic and technological risks — something the U.S. has never had before.
Supporters say the U.S. cannot counter Beijing’s industrial strategy without a centralized structure of its own.
Why This Matters Now
The release of the report comes at a time when the U.S. is scrambling to secure semiconductor supply lines, boost domestic manufacturing, regulate artificial intelligence, and respond to Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns that have targeted companies, energy systems, and government agencies.
It also arrives amid rising tension in the South China Sea, increased Chinese launch activity in space, and new Beijing-backed infrastructure deals in South America and Africa that may offer strategic footholds close to U.S. interests.
The commission’s message is clear: China is moving fast, and the U.S. government must reorganize how it handles technology, security, and foreign economic power before it is outpaced.
What Comes Next
Congress typically uses the commission’s annual report as a blueprint for future legislation, meaning the recommendations could soon materialize into bills concerning:
AI and quantum-technology oversight
Stricter export controls
Supply-chain security programs
New sanctions authority
Expanded protection for satellite and space assets
The creation of the proposed statecraft agency
If lawmakers take the commission’s advice, the U.S. could see one of the largest shifts in national-security structure since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.