The United States should reduce its dependence on China for critical supply chains and work with like-minded countries to ensure its own security and that of its allies, the chairman of the U.S. House committee on Chinese competition said.

In an exclusive interview with The Asahi Shimbun during his first visit to Japan in August, John Moolenaar also said Washington should help Taiwan prepare for its defense “as strongly as possible” to deter aggression from Beijing.

“For the last 30 years, we had hopes that as China grew its economy, they (would) become more open and more freedom-loving,” said Moolenaar, a Republican congressman. “The actuality has been just the opposite. It requires a fresh approach.”

The Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party was created last year.

Moolenaar, who was appointed committee chairman in April, said its role is to identify Chinese threats in the economy, security and other areas and reflect its findings on U.S. government policies.

Speaking on the economy, Moolenaar accused China of resorting to unfair competition to drive out companies in other countries in such sectors as semiconductors and automobiles by “building overcapacity” and through “dumping.”

“They’ll find a national champion, get behind it with tremendous subsidies and use unfair competition to drive people out of the market,” he said.

He said the U.S. strategy is to “build strong partnerships with like-minded countries that respect intellectual property rights and rule of law … and don’t want to be dependent when it comes to supply chains when someone may cut off their supply of critical minerals.”

While acknowledging that a complete U.S. economic decoupling from China is impossible, Moolenaar said semiconductors and other strategic technologies being sought by China can be used for military purposes.

“We need to recognize that those technologies could ultimately be used against us or our allies,” he said.

He said U.S. regulations restricting the transfer of semiconductor technologies and manufacturing equipment to China are important.

Turning to security, Moolenaar said China is becoming increasingly “aggressive” on the military front and “threatening” to people throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

He referred to such incidents as a Chinese military aircraft breaching Japanese airspace off Nagasaki Prefecture on Aug. 26 and Chinese Coast Guard vessels firing water cannons on Philippine ships off reefs in the South China Sea.

“I’m a believer that China is being the aggressor here,” he said. “(China is) not respectful of international law and they need to be held accountable.”

Touching on the Taiwan Strait as a geopolitical flashpoint, Moolenaar said Taiwan is a thriving democracy and he wants to see it continue to “thrive and succeed.”

“The most important thing we can do is to help Taiwan defend itself and deliver on the commitments we have made to ensure that they have the resources they need to defend themselves,” he said.

“Hopefully, (Chinese President) Xi Jinping will recognize that that’s not in the best interests of his legacy or for the Chinese people to invade Taiwan.”

The Biden administration has been trying to engage with the Chinese government.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party Politburo, and others in Beijing on Aug. 27.

Moolenaar said, “I’m all in favor of people talking and communicating,” but he was skeptical about dialogue with China being “truly beneficial.”

“It’s important for countries having a talk have an authentic relationship,” he said. “We would want to see that with China, but it’s difficult to have an authentic relationship when someone is not being honest about their intentions or truthful in their relationships.”

As an example, Moolenaar cited a bilateral agreement over synthetic opioid fentanyl, a leading cause of the deaths of more than 100,000 Americans from drug overdoses each year. 

In a meeting in November, U.S. President Joe Biden and Xi agreed that the two countries will cooperate in controlling the flow of raw materials for fentanyl from China, but Moolenaar said Beijing has not made good on its responsibilities.

The Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has produced policy recommendations on challenges posed by China and sponsored legislation, including a potential TikTok ban.

The bill that would force Chinese TikTok owner ByteDance to divest the video-sharing app or face a ban in the United States was signed into law in April after it was packaged with funding measures for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

In one policy recommendation, the committee called for broadly restricting U.S. investments in China in strategic technological sectors.

The panel has also proposed polices on human rights issues in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region and on security cooperation with Taiwan.

Moolenaar succeeded fellow Republican Mike Gallagher, a known China hawk, as committee chairman after he resigned from Congress in April.

Beijing imposed sanctions on Gallagher in May for his frequent words and actions that have “interfered in China’s internal affairs and infringed on its interests.”

Moolenaar described the panel as a successful bipartisan endeavor with his Democrat colleagues, which signals that the lower chamber is united on a tough stance on China across the aisle.

While the panel’s mandate is scheduled to expire this year, Moolenaar said House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he wants to see its work continue into the next session.

Moolenaar visited Taiwan in February as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation that included Gallagher and other committee members.

A representative from Michigan, Moolenaar opposed plans by the U.S. subsidiary of a major Chinese electric vehicle battery maker to open a plant in his home state.

In response, he introduced a bill to prohibit companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party from receiving tax credits for clean energy production.

A chemistry major, Moolenaar also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

In Congress, he has worked on agricultural and labor issues, which affect his constituents in Michigan and other Midwestern Corn Belt states.