U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, "Hearing: China’s Growing Global Influence: Objectives and Strategies," July 21, 2005

July 21-22, 2005
124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
1st Street and Constitution Avenue, NE
Washington, DC

Co-chairs: Commissioners Carolyn Bartholomew, June Teufel Dreyer and Michael R. Wessel

Opening Statement of C. Richard D’Amato Chairman

Good morning and welcome to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s hearing on China’s Growing Global Influence: Objectives and Strategies. This hearing is being co-chaired by Commissioners Carolyn Bartholomew, June Teufel Dreyer, and Michael Wessel.

China’s influence - diplomatic, economic, and military - is growing on nearly every continent. China’s quest for energy and commodities is a central reason for that country’s increasing activities and presence around the globe, and a part of this Commission’s mandate is to assess how China’s growing economy is affecting the world’s energy supplies and demand driven behavior. Over the next two days we will be discussing what is driving China’s approach to various regions and the tools it is using to reach its goals. We will also be looking at how Beijing approaches discrete regions, including Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and how this activity may affect the United States and our interests.

China’s industrialization, and the increasing income among some sectors of the Chinese population that is fueled by industrialization, has been producing a dramatic increase in demand for raw materials, energy, and consumer goods.  The rapid increase in energy requirements has led China to establish and strengthen relationships with oil-producing countries in the Middle East, Africa, and even our own “backyard” with countries such as Canada and Venezuela. We need to evaluate China’s energy strategy and its implications for U.S. national security.  This is, of course, the central question in the matter of CNOOC’s attempted acquisition of UNOCAL.

The search for such resources is also leading China to ally itself with countries such as Sudan and Iran -- that are of concern to the United States because of their poor human rights records, repressive and undemocratic governments, and contributions to regional instability and conflict -- in return for long-term oil contracts.  Beijing’s diplomatic,
 
economic, and/or military support for these nations frustrates American efforts, and efforts of other nations and international organizations, to obtain responsible changes and improvements in their behavior.

It is imperative for Washington to understand China’s global objectives, the resulting implications for the U.S., and how, as a nation, we should respond. In particular, it is vital for Congress to make knowledgeable, informed decisions. Our purpose here is to collect and help Congress evaluate the information it needs in this respect.

I’ll now turn the microphone over to the Commission’s Vice-Chairman, Mr. Roger Robinson.

OPENING STATEMENTS
Opening Statement by Chairman Richard D'Amato
Opening Statement by Vice Chairman Roger W.Robinson, Jr.
Opening Statement by Hearing Co-Chair June Teufel Dreyer
Opening Statement by Hearing Co-Chair Michael R. Wessel
Opening Statement by Hearing Co-Chair Carolyn Bartholomew

Panel I: Congressional Perspectives
Senator Russell Feingold
Senator James Inhofe
Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Panel II: China’s Future Energy Development and Acquisition Strategies
Dr. Gal Luft, Executive Director, The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
Mr. Fareed Mohamedi, Chief Economist, PFC Energy

Panel III: Factors Driving China’s Global Strategy and U.S. Policy Responses
Mr. Randall Schriver, Armitage International
Dr. Steven Tsang, Director, Asia Studies Center, St. Anthony’s College, Oxford
Dr. Avery Goldstein, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Charles McMillion, President and Chief Economist, MBG Information Services

Panel IV: China’s Approach to Africa
Ambassador Princeton Lyman, The Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow in Africa Policy Studies, The Council on Foreign Relations
Ambassador David Shinn, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Panel V: China’s Approach to Latin America
Dr. Cynthia Watson, Professor, The National War College
Dr . Claudio Loser, Senior Fellow, The Inter-American Dialogue
Mr. Al Santoli, President, The Asia-America Initiative

Panel VI: China’s Approach to Europe
Dr. Robin Niblett, Executive Vice President and Director of the Europe Program, The Center for Strategic and International Studies
Dr. Christopher Dent, Professor, University of Leeds

Panel VII: China’s Approach to Northeast and Southeast Asia
Mr. Daniel Blumenthal, Resident Fellow, The American Enterprise Institute
Dr. Michael Chinworth, Director of The Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Marvin C. Ott, Professor of National Security Policy, The National War College
Mr. Bronson Percival, Senior Advisor, The C.N.A. Corporation

Panel VIII: China’s Approach to South Asia and Former Soviet States
Dr. John Garver, Professor, The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, The Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Madhav Nalapat, Professor, Manipal Academy
Dr. Paul Goble, Professor, University of Tartu
Mr. Herman Pirchner, Jr., Founding President, The American Foreign Policy Council