‘Time is not on our side’: Congress panel says tackling China defines next century

‘We do not want a war within the PRC, a clash of civilizations,’ says ranking Democrat as new committee holds first hearing

The US Congress must act urgently to counter the economic and national security threats posed by the Chinese government, a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers on a newly created special House committee has warned during an inaugural, primetime hearing.

The two superpowers were locked in an “existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century”, the panel’s Republican chairman, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, said as the rivalry between the US and China deepens.