The establishment of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission reflects America’s long-standing, realistic assessment of China as both partner and strategic competitor. Its comprehensive national-level research integrates military, economic, and diplomatic analysis, offering vital lessons for Japan’s security awareness.

Research on China in the United States thus often takes extremely broad and concrete approaches at the national policy level.
2018-01-17
The following continues from the previous chapter.
The very existence and purpose of this organization clearly demonstrate the hard-headed view of China shared across successive U.S. administrations.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was established in 2000 as a result of special legislation enacted for that purpose.
This period was the final year of the Democratic administration of Bill Clinton, when the dramatic expansion of China’s military power began to generate international alarm.
In particular, in the United States there was a growing recognition that China appeared to be directly challenging the previously U.S.-led security framework in East Asia.
Trump and China.
Yet at the same time, cooperation with China was also necessary for the United States.
Examples included U.S.-China coordination in economic and financial matters and cooperation in countering international terrorism.
Thus for the United States at that time, China was both a counterpart embodying potential hostility and rivalry and at the same time a partner for cooperation and coordination.
However, on the U.S. side there firmly existed a realistic stance that the greatest attention must first be directed toward the realm of hostility and conflict.
The birth of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission could be seen as the outcome of that realistic recognition toward China.
Even under the current Trump administration, while China is viewed as a partner for cooperation, the multifaceted stance of also viewing it as an adversary and competitor remains unchanged.
The purpose of establishing the commission was defined as “to investigate how the economic and trade relationship between the United States and China affects U.S. national security and to make policy recommendations to Congress and the government.”
It was precisely an approach to closely examine how the cooperative sphere of “economic and trade relations” between the two countries influences the confrontational domain of “national security.”
The commission is composed primarily of twelve commissioners selected by leading bipartisan members of both houses of Congress.
Each commissioner mainly consists of experts on China’s military, economy, and diplomacy, as well as researchers and practitioners in intelligence and security policy.
Former senior officials and military officers who until recently held key positions in government or the armed forces, as well as former legislators who served for many years in both houses of Congress, also serve as commissioners.
The commission narrows its themes according to China’s actual movements and fluctuations in U.S.-China relations at any given time and conducts its own investigations.
At the same time, it holds public hearings, inviting a wide range of experts from various fields as witnesses to hear their opinions and reports.
Each year, the commission compiles the results of its activities and publishes an annual report.
Its contents are detailed and extensive.
Ultimately, it makes recommendations on China policy to the U.S. government and Congress.
The commission’s secretariat is also staffed by personnel with extensive knowledge of China, military affairs, and intelligence, and regularly publishes reports on specific themes in collaboration with the commissioners.
Research on China in the United States thus often takes extremely broad and concrete approaches at the national policy level.
To be continued.