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The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission has flagged ten priority recommendations aimed at countering what it describes as Beijing's "systematic, persistent, and escalating" challenge to the US national security and global stability.
The bipartisan Commission, whose mandate is to assess the security implications of US-China economic relations, unanimously adopted the report and called for "urgent modernization" of America's strategic tools. At the top of the list is a sweeping proposal to create a consolidated economic statecraft entity, a new federal powerhouse that would merge export control, sanctions enforcement, and technology monitoring capabilities under one umbrella. The Commission argues that fragmented oversight has enabled China and Russia to evade US rules with growing sophistication, demanding a single unit with intelligence integration, real-time industry liaison, and enforcement authorities matching those of the Treasury's sanctions office. A second high-priority recommendation, contained in a classified annexe, focuses on the accelerating US-China race in advanced technologies, including AI and emerging dual-use capabilities. Concern over pharmaceutical vulnerabilities also features prominently in the report. The Commission urges Congress to require far greater transparency in tracking active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and key starting materials originating in China, while pushing federal agencies to support alternative supply chains, including through Medicare procurement levers and FDA reporting mandates. Another major recommendation calls for establishing a national bio-economy industrial base, warning that China is moving rapidly to dominate next-generation biotechnology, bio-manufacturing equipment, and materials. The Commission urges the creation of a Bio-Measurement Laboratory at NIST, expanded biotech lending authority at the Department of Energy, and multi-year federal procurement commitments to anchor domestic bio-based industries. Amid growing concern over PRC-linked devices in U.S. grids, the Commission recommends new restrictions on Chinese-made energy storage systems with remote monitoring capabilities and calls for stringent supply-chain risk assessments across the power sector. Utilities would be required to inventory and mitigate Chinese-origin components in critical assets. On the technology front, the Commission proposes a fundamental shift in export controls for advanced semiconductors, moving from a "sell model" to a "rent model" by requiring cloud-based access for controlled chips and imposing mandatory tracking technologies to curb diversion. A whistle-blower system for export control violations is also recommended. The most ambitious proposal is the establishment of a "Quantum First" national goal by 2030, emphasizing breakthroughs in cryptography, drug discovery, and materials science. The Commission warns that first-mover advantage in quantum computing could yield irreversible strategic consequences if seized by China. Other key recommendations include bolstering US primacy in space, creating an interagency task force to counter large-scale China-linked scam centres operating across Southeast Asia, and directing the Pentagon to report on US readiness to meet its legal obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act amid simultaneous crises involving Russia, Iran, or North Korea. The Commission concludes that countering Beijing's ambitions will require "a proactive, whole-of-government strategy" to rebuild domestic industrial strength and safeguard U.S. technological leadership. (ANI)
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