Testimony Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on China’s Predatory Trade and Investment Strategy

In testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, ITIF President Rob Atkinson stated that China is seeking global technology dominance in an array of advanced technology industries through an unprecedented array of predatory economic and trade policies and practices, including theft of U.S. technology and coerced transfer thereof.

Given China’s Made in China 2025 plan, it is no exaggeration to suggest that, without aggressive action, the United States may face a world within two decades where U.S. jobs in industries as diverse as semiconductors, computers, biopharmaceuticals, aerospace, Internet, digital media, and automobiles are significantly reduced due to Chinese policies unabashedly targeting domestic and global market share in those industries.

Taking firm and strategic action against Chinese predatory, mercantilist practices is long overdue. Whether such action can be successful is an open question, given the limits of the WTO, the unwillingness of the administration to engage our allies in the fight (and often their reluctance to be in the fight), and the fact that our leverage over China is much less than it was a decade ago. But one thing is clear: not taking action will make it much easier for the Chinese government to achieve their goal of dominating globally advanced technology industries.