McCaul asks Blinken about reported China sanctions pause.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Demands Answers from State Department Over China Policy

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) is demanding details from the State Department over its reported decision to withhold actions aimed at confronting threats from communist China.

In a letter made public on May 24, McCaul cited a recent Reuters report saying the State Department “held back human rights-related sanctions, export controls, and other sensitive actions to try to limit damage to the U.S.-China relationship.”

The report quoted Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of State for China and Taiwan, telling staff in an email that “Guidance from S (Secretary of State) is to push non-balloon actions to the right so we can focus on symmetric and calibrated response. We can revisit other actions in a few weeks.” The email was dated Feb. 6, two days after the United States shot down the Chinese spy balloon and three days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to Beijing over the balloon episode.

Some of the postponed actions include:

• Export controls targeting Chinese telecom supplier Huawei
• Sanctions against Chinese officials for human rights

The Reuters report, citing unnamed sources, also said Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was eager to “move on” from the balloon incident and reschedule the Blinken trip.

McCaul Calls State Department’s Actions “Deeply Troubling”

To McCaul, who advocates for a stronger position on China, such instructions are “deeply troubling” and demonstrate the State Department’s “continued weakness and passivity” in the face of Chinese aggression.

“Congress has empowered the executive branch with national security tools such as sanctions and export controls for the express purpose of protecting U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, but the Department apparently refuses to implement them,” he wrote in the letter to Blinken, noting that the report is consistent with information his committee has received in recent months. “This undermines not only the basis for these tools but also diplomatic efforts to secure coordination among partners and allies.”

Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, remained evasive when Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) repeatedly questioned him whether Sherman “refused to approve or requested any delay in implementation of congressionally-mandated Uyghur Human Rights Policy” sanctions.

“We continue to take a number of steps and we will take a number of steps to hold accountable,” replied Kritenbrink, as Huizenga interrupted.