The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (informally, the US-China Commission, USCC) is an independent agency of the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

. It was established on October 30, 2000, through the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act. The USCC is responsible for providing recommendations based on their findings on bilateral trade with the

People’s Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, evaluating

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...

and trading risks in all industries and conducting research on China’s actions. All these findings are discussed in their

hearings In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and ...

, and submitted as an annual report or specific research topics every year. In part due to its small size, the USCC directly reports to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

- it is not a part of any other department or agency in the federal government. The USCC consists of 12 commissioners who staff it and facilities that were absorbed from the former US Trade Deficit Review Commission. The commissioners are appointed to two-year terms by the Majority and Minority

Leaders Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

of the U.S. Senate, and by the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

and Minority

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

of the U.S. House of Representatives. The current head of the commission is Carolyn Bartholomew and the Vice Chairman is Robin Cleveland, who are responsible for organizing meetings with other commissioners. Each commissioner is entitled to one vote.

History

The USCC staff and facilities are from former US Trade Deficit Review Commission by the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act of 2001. Since then, the USCC is responsible for overseeing

trade deficit The balance of trade, commercial balance, or net exports (sometimes symbolized as NX), is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports over a certain time period. Sometimes a distinction is made between a balanc ...

matters with China. The USCC was created as the US government believes some of the current trades with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

were in need of urgent attentions and corrections based on analyses, considering China’s military modernizations, change of trade policy and

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

and information controls. Its first annual report in 2002 found that China is and will be a major competitor of the U.S. and also concluded that China as the third-largest trading partner had extremely unbalanced trade relationship. In the following years between 2004 and 2009, the USCC stated that China’s undervalued currency,

counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

and

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, export subsidies and lack of protection of US intellectual property right were continually contributed to a growing

. The main focus for the commission is constantly changing around the eight main areas. However, the focused area in the last decade (2010-2020) is

. In the 2020 Annual report, the commission stated 10 keys recommendations but many of them are related to security versus purely economic-centered. The USCC argues the main direction of US-China relation will be "A combination of containment and engagement"

Function and Value

Annual Report The main part of the commission is to submit annual report every year. The USCC fulfills its mission by holding regular meetings with commission members to discuss recent related matters include write full analysis of eight focused parts, which are

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

, American Capital Market, Economic transfers, Regional Economics and Security impacts, US-China Bilateral Programs, Weapon proliferation,

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

Compliance and Implications of restrictions on speech and information access in China. And provide conclusions and recommendations for legislative and administrative actions. The public annual report can be download and access by general public, the private annual report is provided to

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and president. The USCC provided its first annual report to Congress in 2002 and did not provide report in 2003. However, 7 research papers were provided in 2003. 18 annual reports were submitted until 2020 so far. Hearing Multiple hearings are held every year with commissioners and outside government parties to discuss relevant matters. The first hearing was "China Trade/Sectoral and WTO Issues" on June 14, 2001. The latest hearing was held on April 15, 2021, the topic was "An Assessment of the CCP’s Economic Ambitions, Plans, and Metrics of Success". Research Specific research topics are choosing according to the need of congress and popularity among general public, topics can be varying such as economics, trade, technology, military and security. The latest research is "China’s Health System" in 2021, a few popular research papers are "China’s Corporate Social Credit System" in 2020 and "China’s Internet of Things" in 2018. Those research papers can be parts of the annual reports. The USCC also entitled to access any information from the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

, the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and any other Federal departments that the commission considers necessary to carry out its duties. Also, government staff including the speakers of Congress, senior federal members and people from military, security, industry and academia who are relevant to the hearings must cooperate with the USCC and attend to the hearings.

Structure

The USCC consists of 12 commission members and 19 staff. Members have the same responsibility as the Trade Deficit Review Commission. Each commission members are appointed to a two-year term by the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

, after consulting with majority of

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

’s leaders. Members are not later than 30 days after the date on which each new Congress convenes, and may be reappointed for other additional terms. Each member entitled to one vote for decision-making and voting matters. Members must be US citizens and have expertise in national security and US-China relations. A chairman and vice chairman are selected from among twelve members by equal voting. An annual report is needed to submit to congress in both classified and unclassified form on a date that not late than 1 December every year. Recommendations also consider trade and transfer through third countries if necessary.

Commission members and staff

USCC members comprise a commission

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

vice chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

and ten other members. The commission leaders are Chairman Alex Wong and Vice chairman Kim Glas. The other members are Jeffrey Fiedler, Carolyn Bartholomew, Derek Scissors, Michael R. Wessel, Aaron Friedberg, James Mann, Carte P. Goodwin, Randall Schriver, Robin Cleveland, and Bob Borochoff.United States-China Economic and Security Review Commissio
Commission Members
/ref> Past members include

Andreas Borgeas Andreas Borgeas (born March 7, 1974) is an American attorney, politician, and academic who served as a member of the California State Senate from the 8th district, which included parts of the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Prior to bei ...

, Roy D. Kamphausen, Thea Mei Lee, Senator Fred Thompson, Pat Mulloy, Former Ambassador James Lilley, Kenneth Lewis,

Larry Wortzel Larry M. Wortzel (born 1947) served nine terms as a commissioner on the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission of the United States Congress. A 32-year military veteran, he was a U.S. Army colonel, director of the Strategic St ...

, and James M. Talent.

References

External links