Rep. Pat Fallon pitches bill to increase oversight on Chinese companies

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Rep. Pat Fallon will propose a bill that would increase government oversight on Chinese companies in hopes of shoring up domestic competition for U.S. enterprises.

The Texas Republican’s legislation would seek increased transparency for publicly traded companies with headquarters in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao, and require executives and board members of Chinese firms to disclose their membership with the Chinese Communist Party and whether their firm has a party branch or committee dedicated to liaising with the party.

Mr. Fallon called his bill “the first step to strategic economic disentanglement from China.”

“Today, China is the antithesis of the foundational values of our great nation. Freedom of religion, speech, press, free markets, and the free exchange of ideas are nonexistent. American markets and capital are currently being manipulated to fund historic military build ups by the Government of the People’s Republic of China,” Mr. Fallon said in a statement.

Rep. Jake Ellzey, Texas Republican, is a co-sponsor of the bill.

“For too long, Chinese companies have benefited from a lack of regulatory oversight,” Mr. Ellzey said. “The Securing American Families and Enterprises (SAFE) from PRC Investments Act takes the first step to ensure that American investors do not directly aid the Communist Party of China’s military modernization, state surveillance, and human rights abuses.”

Republicans have made combating China’s rise a key priority in their legislative agenda for the current Congress.

Earlier this month, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy empaneled a select committee on China that passed the House with wide bipartisan support.

He also tapped Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey to lead the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which includes members of both parties in the House and Senate.

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