Washington, DC – Today, House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee Chair Young Kim (CA-40) spoke on the House floor in support of the PRC is Not a Developing Country Act (H.R. 1107), a bipartisan bill she introduced with Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-10) to require the Department of State to take actions to stop China from being classified as a developing country by international organizations.
You can watch her floor speech here and read her remarks as prepared for delivery below.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 1107, The PRC is Not a Developing Country Act, a bipartisan bill I introduced with my colleague Representative Connolly to address the People’s Republic of China’s exploitation of its status as a “developing country” in treaties and international organizations.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 1107, The PRC is Not a Developing Country Act. This is a bipartisan bill I introduced with my colleague Representative Connolly to address the People’s Republic of China’s exploitation of its status as a “developing country” in treaties and international organizations.
The People’s Republic of China is the world’s second largest economy, accounting for 18.6% of the global economy. The size of their economy is second only to that of the United States, which is treated as a developed or high-income country in treaties and international organizations.
However, the PRC is classified as a developing country, and they’re using this status to game the system.
The PRC exploits its developing country status by applying for development assistance and loans from international organizations, despite spending trillions on infrastructure projects in developing countries as part of the debt trap diplomacy scheme known as the Belt and Road Initiative. In fact, the PRC’s withdrawal of loans takes away from actual developing countries and finances the Belt and Road Program.
We are long overdue to level the playing field. This legislation rights this wrong by requiring the Secretary of State to oppose the labeling or treatment of the PRC as a developing country in any international organization or treaty to which the U.S. is a party.
It also directs the Secretary to seek mechanisms in international organization to change the status of the PRC from a developing to a developed country.
We cannot let the PRC continue exploiting countries in need and taking unfair advantage of international treaties and organizations.
It is time that we give developing countries a better chance at participating in programs meant for them, and not meant for the world’s second largest economy. I urge my colleagues to vote yes, and I yield back the balance of my time.
