Auchincloss Promotes Conflict, Competition and Collaboration With China

In response to flaring tensions between the United States and China, the U.S. House of Representatives created a Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Sitting on that committee is Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss, who represents parts of Greater Boston and the SouthCoast in the House.

Recently, Auchincloss made an appearance on WBSM's SouthCoast Tonight to discuss the work he expects to do on the bipartisan China Select Committee and why he was picked to serve on it.

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The second-term representative believes he was picked because he has a rare profile in Congress of being both a millennial and a veteran, which gives him a perspective few of his fellow legislators have. Auchincloss was an officer in the the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Afghanistan.

Auchincloss said that he's excited for the select committee, which he described as "an opportunity to rise above partisan politics to chart a sound strategy for a century defining competition with China."

Auchincloss stressed that the U.S. approach to China should be three dimensional.

"In some areas, we have to prepare for conflict," Auchincloss said. "In the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea, we have to be ready to fight and win."

"In some areas we're going to compete – investment in the Global South, trade, and research and development," he said. "Then in some areas, we actually want to collaborate on transnational challenges like climate change and global public health."

Discussing the infamous Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the U.S. government over the Atlantic Ocean, Auchincloss wouldn't speculate on why the balloon was flown into U.S. airspace but praised the response by President Joe Biden.

"He had three objectives: one, he had to uphold the sovereignty of American airspace. Two, maximize counterespionage/counterintelligence opportunities," he said. "Number three, ensure the protection of lives and property on the ground. He accomplished all three."

Auchincloss said that the response to the spy balloon by his Republican colleagues was a missed opportunity for them rally around America's national security and the president, and they instead "looked for cheap points to score on cable news to criticize him for made up transgressions."

The Massachusetts Congressman said he hopes this will not be a harbinger of what's to come from his Republican counterparts on the China Select Committee, and that both parties can work collaboratively to achieve policy outcomes.

"The history of American foreign policy is quite clear on this front: sustainable, effective American foreign policy requires bipartisan support in Congress. Full stop. Gotta do it," he said.

Listen to Congressman Auchincloss' full interview on SouthCoast Tonight: