Republican senators push DOJ to reinstate China Initiative aimed at countering Chinese espionage

Criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to end the national program started under the Trump administration known as the China Initiative, eight Republican senators called on the department last week to reinstate moves to counter Chinese espionage and other activities.

“If DOJ mishandled particular cases, pursued cases without sufficient evidence, or otherwise acted in a manner that raised legitimate concerns about racial bias or other improprieties, those problems should be addressed on a case-by-case basis,” the senators wrote, dismissing part of the justification the DOJ provided for disbanding the initiative in the first place. “The wholesale abandonment of a national security initiative because of unproven allegations of racial profiling should not happen.”

This, they argued, has left the U.S. economy and national security vulnerable to espionage and other actions from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In particular, they emphasized that action is needed to ensure the integrity of American research, particularly in areas of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, big data, quantum computing, photonics and laser technology, robotics, semiconductors, 5G/6G, new and advanced materials, and aerospace technology.

While the DOJ replaced the China Initiative program with a Strategy for Countering Nation-State Threats under the Biden administration, the senators claimed it to be comparatively vague. They denounced its core characterization that threats from the CCP were comparative to those of other nations.

“What concrete policies and actions will emerge from this strategy, and their adequacy to the challenge at hand, remain to be seen,” the senators wrote. “We urge DOJ to formally recognize and reprioritize the threat presented by the CCP to U.S. national security and ask that you reconsider your decision to disband the China Initiative.”

They also pushed the DOJ to answer five questions about the China Initiative: how the DOJ will investigate and prosecute CCP economic espionage, covert influence operations, and activities that result in theft of emerging technologies; concrete changes expected in transitioning from one strategy to the next; the role of administrative agencies and universities in the DOJ’s new initiative; how changed guidance will impact counseling on criminal prosecutions; and whether the DOJ will continue to use all its tools to block espionage even if dealing with a situation that by its nature pertains to a racial component.

Legislators involved include U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (WI), Marco Rubio (FL), Mike Lee (UT), Bill Cassidy (LA), Ted Cruz (TX), Rick Scott (FL), James Landford (OK), and Cynthia Lummis (WY).