The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the STOP CCP Act, a bill that would force the president to sanction Chinese leaders. The bill largely split the House along partisan lines and caused debates about U.S.-Chinese relations.
The bill would force the president to block any Chinese leader from owning property or entering the United States who was involved in violating Hong Kong’s independence, being in conflict with Taiwan or oppressing different groups in China, such as Uyghur Muslims.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) along with several other Republicans and a couple of Democrats introduced the bill. The bill passed 243-174 in the House and will next be voted on in the Senate.
Those favoring the bill argued that it was necessary to punish Chinese leaders for breaking international norms. Those in opposition to the bill argued that punishing Chinese leaders would hurt U.S. diplomatic efforts.
“It is critical to use targeted sanctions to hold these top party leaders accountable,” Rep. James Moylan (R- Guam) said.
Moylan and others who support the bill have brought up how China’s leadership has been increasingly encroaching on Taiwanese territory. He also mentioned how Hong Kong has lost most of its autonomy to China and that China has been brutally oppressing minority groups.
Those in opposition to the bill do not disagree that these things are happening. They instead believe that sanctioning Chinese leaders would make it harder to negotiate with them while also failing to stop the Chinese government from acting immorally.
“I oppose this dangerous and counterproductive bill which will do nothing to help the Uyghurs, the Hong Kongers and the people of Taiwan while making it incredibly difficult to engage China on U.S. interests,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said.
Meeks brought up how the Biden administration has used open channels of communication with China and how he believes this is a source of success. He also referenced how necessary open communication has been in the past, invoking memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Those in favor of the bill find this strategy to be a weakness, calling it too lenient with America’s enemies.
“Sadly, I fear our adversaries have grown to depend on the Biden/Harris administration flexibility. Just last night the CCP launched an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) near my district of Guam,” Moylan said.
Still, the opposition insists that risking a breakdown in communication is risking war. They are willing to throw aside getting retribution on individual Chinese officials for the sake of diplomacy. Meeks even brought up that China’s last defense minister refused to meet with U.S. officials because of sanctions.
“If we want to keep the American people safe and lower the chance of an accidental crisis … we have to talk to China,” Meeks said.
Those in support of the bill say that communication has already failed, and that the U.S. needs to act, while also stating that the bill does not outright prohibit communication.
“There’s nothing in the bill that says we can’t have diplomacy. The bill says we don’t need to fund our destroyers. I’m all for talking. How’s that working for us?” McClain said.
President Joe Biden’s administration openly opposed the bill.
“The legislation’s mandatory sanctions against PRC leadership would likely cut off any channels of communication between our two governments … thereby destabilizing U.S.-PRC relations,” the statement of administration policy read.
The STOP CCP Act brings up essential debates about American foreign policy. It is yet to be announced when the bill will be brought to the Senate.
