House China Committee To Seek Testimony From Big Tech, Disney, NBA

The new chairman of the House committee selected to crack down on China briefs the heads of Big Tech, Disney and the National Basketball Association as the committee prepares an investigation into the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the United States.

Representative Mike Gallagher, who oversees the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, said that American companies that do not cooperate with the body do so "at their own peril."

Mr Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, said on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Wednesday that if he had been the CEO of Walt Disney, Bob Iger would have called NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the commission.

"I think Americans are outraged that the NBA is kowtowing to [Chinese President] Xi Jinping," Gallagher said.

He said such a case of corporate concession provides "a glimpse of what will happen to the rest of our national industry if we allow the Chinese Communist Party to take over the dominant heights of technology and economics."

"You'll be able to make the whole world sing," Mr Gallagher said. “You can force the whole world. It's not just about Hollywood or greedy NBA executives."

He also warned the heads of major technology companies that they would be under close scrutiny.

"The reality is that large corporations are facing a growing distrust of their integrity, a growing distrust of their operations and a sense of a complete lack of transparency," he said.

Mr. Gallagher said he wanted to let companies explain themselves to Americans.

"If you refuse to engage in this discussion," he said, "I believe it's my true desire to have this discussion that ultimately it will reflect badly on your company." "And I think you're going to want Congress to have more oversight than it already does."

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 365-65 to create the agency, demonstrating bipartisan cooperation in Congress to combat threats from China.

The committee's agenda will include the U.S. military posture toward China, the dependence of the U.S. supply chain on China and Beijing's theft of U.S. intellectual property.

All objections to the creation of the commission come from Democrats, who express concern that the commission will serve as a platform to promote conspiracy theories about China and promote xenophobia.

"I think when you heard the general debate, you saw a lot of Democrats, even those who were a little concerned that it was getting out of hand, ended up endorsing it," Gallagher said Wednesday. They highly appreciated the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, especially in connection with the economic component of the threat.

"I think that's a great starting point for the committee," he said.

Democrats have not yet named the members who will serve on the committee.

The commission will consist of seven Democrats and nine Republicans.

House Intelligence Committee Public Hearing on Commercial Electronic Surveillance