Earlier today, I sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to each of the other 434 Members of Congress inviting them to join the Congressional China Caucus.  The Congressional China Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress who share a common interest in the emergence of China as a political, economic, and military actor on both the regional and world stage.

As China continues to grow and evolve in its economic and military capability, American policymakers must have the dialogue and the debate needed to lay out a long-term strategic vision for maintaining the global leadership role of the United States.

Just this week, Chinese hackers infiltrated Google's Gmail system and broken into hundreds of accounts, including those of senior government officials, military personnel and political activists, the company said.  We’ve also learned that China's military has reportedly invested millions of dollars to set up an elite Internet security force tasked with “fending off cyber attacks,” state media reported May 27, denying that the initiative is intended to create a “hacker army.”  China’s aggressive cyber efforts, along with rapid militarization, should ring alarm bells around the world among governments and businesses wary of Beijing's intentions.

I look forward to continuing to call Congress’ attention to the growing military, political, and economic influence around the world in order to best defend the interests of the United States at home and around the world.  You can read the “Dear Colleague” letter below, which was sent to Members of Congress earlier today.
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Join the Congressional China Caucus
www.forbes.house.gov/ChinaCaucus/

“If the United States is to avoid an arms race with China, it may need a different approach than merely assuming that the Chinese also want to avoid that race…U.S. policymakers have to reckon with the possibility that China intends to use the upcoming period of retrenchment at the Pentagon to close the gap with U.S. military power in the region.  If that’s the case, U.S. policymakers will need to rethink their assumptions.”

“This Week at War: Gates’s China Syndrome.”  Robert Haddick, Foreign Policy.  January 7, 2011.

Dear Colleague,

I would like to invite you to join the Congressional China Caucus.  The Congressional China Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress who share a common interest in the emergence of China as a political, economic, and military actor on both the regional and world stage.  As China continues to grow and evolve in its economic and military capability, American policymakers must have the dialogue and the debate needed to lay out a long-term strategic vision for maintaining the global leadership role of the United States.

In the last six months, we have watched China conduct the most severe crackdown on political and religious dissent since Tiananmen Square.  Thousands of Chinese citizens have been detained for practicing their faith, expressing their beliefs, and questioning the policies of the Chinese Communist Party.  To date, hundreds of well-known and respected human rights activists remain missing after being taken into custody by Chinese police.  This crackdown was described by Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, following recent U.S.-China human rights talks, as “a serious backsliding” of freedoms in China.

Coinciding with Beijing’s police-state crackdown on internal opposition, in the last year we have seen China make considerable advancements in military capability.  In late 2010, China began the process of deploying an anti-ship ballistic missile, the DF-21D, capable of targeting U.S. aircraft carriers within one thousand miles of the Chinese coast.  This news regarding the DF-21D was closely followed by the January test of China’s J-20, the nation’s first stealth jet-fighter.  Then, in March and April we learned that China has neared completion of its first aircraft carrier and is developing the new J-15 jet-fighter, designed for carrier deployment.  Considered separately, each of these advancements has enormous implications for future U.S. military planning.  In the aggregate, they mark an unprecedented era of Chinese military modernization.

Sincerely,

J. Randy Forbes
Member of Congress