Burlison Leads Roundtable on Strategic Competition with China

WASHINGTON-Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) delivered opening remarks at today's roundtable titled "Winning the Economic Competition with China: Working Families, the AI Race, and Energy." In his remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Burlison highlighted China's push to control key global industries like critical minerals processing, shipbuilding, AI development, pharmaceutical supplies, and other manufacturing in order to seize economic dominance over the rest of the world and undermine American leadership. He also noted that the Working Families Tax Cut Act stopped China from benefiting from American tax provisions and can be a key tool in maintaining the U.S.'s leadership on the world stage.

WATCH: Rep. Burlison's Opening Remarks

Below are Subcommittee Chairman Burlison's remarks as prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon.

I want to welcome everyone to this roundtable hosted by the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs.

Today, we will be discussing the United States' strategic economic competition with China, and how H.R. 1, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, reverses misguided policies championed by Democrats and strengthens our position to win.

Just over two weeks ago, our great nation celebrated 250 years since our Founding Fathers declared independence from Great Britain.

At the time, that mighty empire sought to grow its economic might at the expense of our peoples' rights and liberty.

250 years later, the United States is the most powerful nation the world has ever known.

Throughout our history, we have faced significant threats from nations who opposed our liberty and threatened our economic prosperity.

Today, we face such a threat yet again, from the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship that leads it.

While China seeks to cast itself as a traditional economic competitor, it is unlike any adversary we have ever faced.

Quite simply, its ambition is to reshape and dominate the global economy and international order of the 21st Century.

China - through massive government subsidization, strategic central planning, and rampant violation of rules other nations respect - now controls key chokepoint industries, such as critical minerals processing, shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals supply, and other essential manufacturing sectors.

As part of undermining American AI development, China is funding nonprofits in the U.S. and spreading propaganda to impede data center construction and energy projects.

We are even hearing reports of China-linked groups using American AI to spread misleading anti-data center content.

Their intent is clear.

China will use any means to undermine American AI and other key American industries so that they, not the United States, will lead the world's future.

Both abroad and in the U.S., China has been dumping "green" energy products such as solar panels to create both a supply chain dependency and a backdoor risk to our electric grid security.

The Biden Administration's and congressional Democrats' misguided Inflation Reduction Act played into China's hands, greatly expanding tax credits for wind and solar energy, with the ultimate aim of phasing out American fossil fuels.

China quickly exploited these tax credits, setting up factories in the U.S. to build their solar panels here.

To compete with and win against China in these key areas, the U.S. economy needs firm legislative support.

With the passage of H.R. 1, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act - also known as the WFTCA - on July 4, 2025, Republicans ended the Biden-era climate slush fund and provided key support to the U.S. economy.

The WFTCA stopped China from benefiting from our tax provisions, prohibiting Foreign Entities of Concern from eligibility.

The bill included key provisions to support expansion of our reliable domestic fossil fuel production, bolstering American energy dominance.

The bill also provided $7.5 billion to expand the United States' domestic critical minerals capacity, which is essential for the development of American AI, semiconductors and more.

China has been aggressively accelerating its shipbuilding, leveraging its critical minerals chokehold, and taking punitive measures against American businesses.

WFTCA has strengthened our hand against China, directly addressing many of these concerns.

But we have more we must do.

Our Founding Fathers understood that people are endowed by God with unalienable rights, and that government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

The Chinese Communist Party, however, views individual rights as granted by and subordinate to the will of the party.

If the United States loses its economic competition with China, the Chinese Communist Party will leverage its economic victory to impose that ideology of oppression upon the world.

In the face of this, competing alone is not enough.

We must win.

Today I hope we can discuss how the WFTCA strengthens our position against China, and how we can build on its success to win the battle for the future.