U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) on March 7 sponsored a bipartisan bill that would direct the U.S. Secretary of State to provide Congress with a briefing and report on any support the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has given Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.
“As authoritarian regimes seek to undermine and destroy freedom and democracy around the world, the United States must demonstrate leadership, unity and strength,” said Rep. Kim.
The congresswoman introduced the Direct Investigations on China, Take Action to Oppose Russia (DICTATOR) Act of 2022, H.R. 6954, with 14 original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), John Katko (R-NY), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
The report required under H.R. 6954 would inform Congress on the extent to which the PRC and any Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated entities may have assisted the Russian Federation in evading sanctions by the U.S. government in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The PRC has refused to join other nations in sanctioning the Russian Federation, according to information provided by Rep. Kim’s staff.
“While the United States, NATO allies and other nations have taken steps to hold Vladimir Putin accountable for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and to provide support to the Ukrainian people as they defend their freedoms, silence and deference from the People’s Republic of China toward the Russian Federation cannot be ignored,” Rep. Kim said. “The DICTATOR Act will ensure the U.S. sends a clear message to the PRC and CCP that any efforts to assist Russia in evading U.S.-imposed sanctions will not be tolerated and will be met with severe costs.”
According to the text of H.R. 6954, the PRC and the Russian Federation in recent years have forged a closer relationship based largely on their shared interest in challenging the rules-based international order. The governments of both countries seek to reshape that order into one that is more welcoming to their authoritarian systems of government, the bill says.
It is the sense of Congress, according to the bill, that the United States president “should impose sanctions on those entities found to have aided the Russian Federation or Russian oligarchs in evading sanctions imposed by the United States and allied nations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
H.R. 6954 has been referred to both the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for consideration.
