Witness Promises Delivery of U.S. China Strategy After Committee Raises Delay

Unidentified Speaker 1 pressed for a written U.S. strategy on China, saying he and "Senator Menendez" had drafted legislation calling for the strategy to be provided to the committee by July 9 and that the committee had not received it. "We haven't received it," the speaker said, asking, "What's the holdup, and when will we receive it?"

Unidentified Speaker 2 replied that the strategy exists and pledged to provide both unclassified and classified versions. "I will deliver it to you personally," the speaker said, acknowledging frustration about the timing and promising the documents would be shared with the committee.

The answering speaker defended broader U.S. efforts to compete with China, saying the administration has "made incredible investments in technologies, the key technologies of the 21st century," and describing export-control and partnership efforts intended to keep critical technologies from reaching China. "We're trying to restrict the most critical of those technologies from going to China," the speaker said, and called the measures a bipartisan success.

The exchange also included a list of diplomatic and security partnerships cited as evidence of U.S. progress: "Great Britain and Australia," the speaker said, calling AUKUS "a significant, inspirational, powerful program," and also referenced closer cooperation with India, Japan and South Korea and engagement in Europe. The speaker acknowledged "huge challenges in the global South" but said the U.S. has begun diversifying supply chains and critical minerals.

The committee member who opened the exchange framed China as both globally assertive and vulnerable, saying China "intends to replace us probably by mid century" while noting demographic and debt vulnerabilities the speaker said the United States could exploit with an effective strategy. The answering speaker closed the substantive exchange by offering a historical perspective on cycles of perceived American decline and stating confidence that the U.S. can renew itself.

The hearing record shows a committee request tied to a statutory deadline (July 9) for delivery of a formal strategy; the committee member said that deadline was missed and asked for an explanation. The answering participant said the strategy will be delivered to the committee but did not specify an exact delivery date in the exchange.