Washington: Asserting that Americans are “sick and tired” of Beijing’s unfair trade practices, US lawmakers have asked the Obama Administration to stop foreign aid to Washington’s main creditor, China.
“American people are sick and tired of China’s unfair trade practices… No amount of US government assistance would change China’s intentions to steal our secrets, take our manufacturing jobs and advance its own agenda,” Congressman Donald Manzullo said at a Congressional hearing on US developmental assistance to China.
The House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia put under the microscope on Tuesday USD 4 million of proposed funding for promoting clean energy, the rule of law, and to fight wildlife trafficking.
The committee has put that aid, approved last year, on hold as it demands explanations from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) how the funds would be used.
“We need to make sure that these funds are effectively being used to the benefit of the American people. Providing training, technical assistance and capacity building for Chinese manufacturing and commercial real estate sectors is unjustifiable in a time when China continues to steal our intellectual property and drive US competitors out of business,” said Manzullo, who chaired the Congressional hearing.
“Given the state of the US economy and with government debt approaching a record USD 15 trillion, it is absurd to think that any US government entity would spend a single dollar trying to encourage China to do the right thing,” he said.
He said that China has enough resources to spend on its own and US assistance to China should not be at any cost to the taxpayer.
Congressman Brad Sherman said he is worried about the mindset in US foreign policy establishment that thinks US mailing checks to Beijing is a good idea. (PTI)
