First on CNN: Former Trump nationwide safety advisers amongst witnesses testifying at House listening to on China

The House choose committee on China will function 4 high-profile witnesses throughout its first listening to Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, together with former President Donald Trump’s nationwide safety adviser, H.R. McMaster, and prime China skilled and former deputy nationwide safety adviser, Matthew Pottinger, sources conversant in the listening to instructed CNN.

That is the primary primetime listening to that any GOP-led committee has held since Republicans took over the House majority in January. The panel’s prime Republican, Chairman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, is hoping to make a splash together with his witness listing, which is geared toward proving his panel’s dedication to main a severe, bipartisan investigation that would lead to substantial legislative motion, the sources mentioned.

Different witnesses embrace Tong Yi, former secretary to certainly one of China’s main dissidents and present human rights activist, Wei Jingsheng, and Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

The witnesses will assist the committee lay out what they view are the particular threats China poses as a worldwide competitor, in addition to the panel’s prime priorities on counter Beijing’s aggression.

McMaster and Pottinger are important witnesses for the committee to showcase. They’re extensively revered on each side of the aisle and performed key roles in how the Trump administration formulated and carried out its agenda towards China.

Pottinger, particularly, labored for Trump from the beginning of his administration till resigning within the fast aftermath of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. He testified publicly final yr earlier than the House choose committee on the January 6 assault, incomes him a nod of approval from the left.

“Our nationwide safety was harmed another way by the sixth of January and that’s, I believe it emboldened our enemies by serving to give them ammunition to feed a story that our system of presidency doesn’t work, that america is in decline,” Pottinger mentioned on the listening to. “China, the Putin regime in Russia, Tehran, they’re keen on pushing these sorts of narratives – and by the best way, they’re improper.”

In the meantime, Tong can be an important witness who can communicate personally to one of many committee’s prime priorities – highlighting China’s human rights abuses and why the US should do extra to curb its world affect. Tong was arrested and imprisoned for her involvement with Jingsheng and the democracy motion in 1993, and was later launched in 1996 earlier than going into exile within the US.

Paul is predicted to stipulate the reasoning for decreasing Beijing’s function within the US financial system and stopping American firms from ending up within the fingers of Chinese language state-owned companies and traders. He’s additionally been a number one voice on rising home manufacturing, and may communicate to why the panel believes the US should cease China’s leverage at each angle.

Tuesday’s listening to is the committee’s first take a look at to showcase what the panel is getting down to do: main severe investigations in a bipartisan manner that may get the backing of nearly all of the general public.

Each Gallagher and Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the committee’s highest rating Democrat, have publicly touted the panel’s efforts to stay bipartisan in tone and apply, and each have pointed to the forms of members on the panel as proof that their work can be a departure from the extremely politicized investigations different prime committees are conducting.

“We’re not going to show this right into a partisan, bomb-throwing committee,” Gallagher just lately instructed CNN. “Now, there could also be significant disagreement on the problems. There are many areas the place Democrats and Republicans disagree on China, however total, I believe everybody’s attempting to row in the identical path.”

That dedication to bipartisanship, nevertheless, was just lately examined by the controversial strategy the Biden administration took in dealing with the Chinese language spy balloon that just lately flew over the US. How the committee addresses that strategy can be a key signal of whether or not they can honor their vow to stay civil and work collectively.

McMaster and Pottinger will doubtless take questions on Tuesday about what the Trump administration knew relating to the transiting of three suspected Chinese language spy balloons over the continental US throughout Trump’s time in workplace. Committee aides instructed CNN to look at the road of questioning from completely different members as an indication of whether or not the panel can stay unified on the general public stage.

Whereas Tuesday’s listening to is predicted to largely deal with China’s human rights abuses, one of the crucial urgent points the committee will in the end delve into is how the US ought to defend Taiwan towards rising Chinese language aggression within the area.

The listening to comes after a congressional delegation, led by choose committee member Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, traveled to Taiwan the place they met with prime officers to debate the threats posed by China.

Khanna labored extraordinarily exhausting to make sure that this journey was not seen as overly provocative to China, specializing in the financial relationship and publicly stating his curiosity in visiting China as effectively, in keeping with an aide, who famous that it was not cancelled within the wake of the Chinese language spy balloon incident as a result of he believed it could ship the improper message.

The congressman met with Morris Chang, the founding father of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm, who, in keeping with the aide, usually doesn’t meet with delegations, however needed to satisfy with Khanna due to his Silicon Valley ties and the function as a co-author of the CHIPS and Science Act.

Addressing challenges posed by China’s function within the semiconductor provide chain is a prime precedence for the China choose committee and has bipartisan assist, in keeping with sources conversant in the matter.

Khanna instructed CNN in a cellphone interview Wednesday that he hopes the committee may have the chance to listen to instantly from prime officers like CIA Director Invoice Burns and focus on methods for avoiding battle with China at a time of probably rising tensions.

“The committee is working in a manner that’s in keeping with American overseas coverage,” he mentioned, pointing to the work of former Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter that has “stood the take a look at of time for nearly 50 years and averted battle within the straights.”

“It will behoove us to grasp the rationale behind that coverage, the fragile steadiness the US has managed to strike,” Khanna added, noting it could be useful for the panel to deal with these subjects, together with the administration’s coverage associated to Taiwan, with Burns and Secretary of State Antony Blinken particularly.

Senior US nationwide safety officers, together with Burns, have more and more warned that the Chinese language navy has been ordered by President Xi Jinping to arrange for a possible invasion of Taiwan – a transfer that will dramatically escalate tensions and enhance the danger of battle with the US.

“We clearly see indications of Xi instructing his navy to be prepared” for an invasion later on this decade, Burns mentioned on the Munich Safety Convention, referring to Taiwan.

Whereas “that doesn’t imply that an invasion goes to happen,” it underscores how the “dangers enhance the farther you get into this decade and past,” he added.