Senators and witnesses flag China’s overseas coal projects and supply-chain human-rights risks

Sen. Mitt Romney pressed witnesses on whether President Xi’s pledges to peak emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060 align with China’s continuing construction of coal plants at home and abroad.

Mr. Broadgum (State Department) told the committee ‘‘we are gonna be looking at what Beijing does, and not what it says it will do,’’ arguing that many pledges have not yet materialized and that actions contrary to commitments should be called out. The senator suggested China could obscure emissions by financing production overseas under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The session also focused on human-rights concerns in clean-energy supply chains. The senator asked how the U.S. could separate climate cooperation from reports of forced labor in the production of batteries and solar panels. Mr. Pershing urged two responses: establish procurement standards that exclude forced-labor sources and diversify the supply chain to reduce dependence on any single region, including building U.S. or allied production capacity.

Witnesses acknowledged nuance: Pershing said China has sometimes exceeded its own intensity or renewable targets, but warned that continued investment in overseas coal is incompatible with ambitious neutrality goals.

No formal sanctions, procurement rules or legislative actions were adopted at the hearing; witnesses recommended that standards and supply-chain diversification be pursued through executive procurement policy, trade policy and finance tools.