At any moment, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party will be brawling on the West Lawn of the Capitol for control of the Committee and which policies it will favor.
When we last heard from Congressman Ro Khanna, Democrat, Khanna was saying that because of the risks associated with development of AI models, the U.S. should partner with the government of the People’s Republic of China to ensure that the development is done safely. “We urgently need an agreement with China on basic inspections and safety standards.”
Not only, intimated Khanna, might the CCP sign onto such an agreement—they might even miraculously turn over a new leaf and become trustworthy.
AI risks
So there was a hearing, and there were press releases on Select Committee letterhead. The hearing was held on September 23, 2026, the day Xi Jinping arrived in DC to be feted by the U.S. president.
On the day of the hearing, Khanna and other Democrats issued a press release about how “Select Committee Democrats Urge Trump to Address AI Risks with Xi,” which allowed that “Especially when engaging with the PRC, the U.S. cannot assume commitments will be upheld unless there are clear mechanisms for verifying compliance.” Therefore, if the U.S. and China do agree to a framework for combatting AI risks, there should be clear mechanisms for verifying compliance. We’ll send U.S. officials to monitor the work in PRC AI companies and the Chinese will send CCP officials to monitor the work in U.S. AI companies. Or something.
The campaign didn’t work. The U.S. and China haven’t agreed, at least not yet, to allow the CCP to in any degree regulate development of American AI, which is what such a partnership must entail unless the U.S. simply hands Xi a list of the standards that the PRC’s AI industry must now adhere to.
Enter Moolenaar
Members of the Select Committee don’t seem to criticize each other publicly in consequence of any sharp disagreements they may have about what the Committee should be advocating. Not openly.
But they may issue a statement on Select Committee letterhead contradicting other statements issued on Select Committee letterhead. And we have such a statement from the chairman of the Select Committee, Congressman John Moolenaar, Republican. His brief September 23 press release is entitled “China Will Break Promises on AI.”
It quotes him as follows:
“The Trump Administration is right to limit AI discussion with China to a communication channel for security incidents. The real danger is trusting the CCP. Those advocating we work with the CCP to handcuff American companies should remember that China is engaged in the largest nuclear weapons buildup in history but refuses to engage in arms control talks. They should remember China’s catastrophically unsafe experiments with pathogens, and that the CCP exports its surveillance technology to dictators around the globe. Most importantly, they need to remember that the CCP refuses to honor its agreements and lies to the world—from COVID’s origins, to Hong Kong’s autonomy, to internationally agreed upon borders.”
Who are “those advocating we work with the CCP”? Who could Congressman Moolenaar be talking about?
