Ro Khanna, a California progressive who opposed the US congressional effort to force the Chinese divestment of TikTok, will replace Illinois Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi as the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Communist Party later this month.
The announcement, made by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday, comes eight months after Krishnamoorthi said he would run for a Senate seat that will be vacated by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin. Durbin announced last April that he would not seek re-election in the November midterms.
Krishnamoorthi has served as the senior Democrat on the committee focused on competition with China since its inception in 2023 and has been a leading voice on China policy in the House of Representatives.
The Illinois Democrat was a key figure behind several measures targeting China that have become law, including the Biosecure Act, which restricts federal contracts with Chinese biotechnology companies, and a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest or face a ban in the US.
He is also a strong proponent of controls on the export of advanced semiconductors to China. Khanna, who represents a district that overlaps with Silicon Valley, has also been a committee member since the start.
In a statement on Monday, Khanna called for a new “economic patriotism”, echoing bipartisan scepticism in Washington over decades of trade policy towards China.
“For decades, Americans have suffered the consequences of unfettered globalism – a widening trade deficit with China, the offshoring of jobs and the hollowing out of factory towns. A new economic patriotism must be at the forefront of our diplomacy with China,” he said.
The California Democrat has long championed industrial policies to reduce American dependence on Chinese manufacturers.
He was an early supporter of what became the landmark Chips and Science Act of 2022, legislation aimed at luring microchip manufacturing back to the US, which allocated US$53 billion in federal incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development.
But during his time in Congress, the California congressman has at times notably struck a different line from his colleagues, including fellow Democrats, on key China-related measures.
Khanna was the only Democrat and member of the hawkish select committee in 2024 to vote against a stand-alone bill to force China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok, and after the bill became law that year, he has led House efforts to push for a delay in its implementation.
He was also a proponent of engagement with Beijing when congressional scepticism was high.
In 2023, Khanna said he would be open to going to China – a trip that he ultimately made last September with House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith and two other representatives.
AI and fentanyl among issues important to Khanna
In a statement to the Post after the trip, Khanna highlighted AI safety, market access, Taiwan, fentanyl and Palestine as key focus areas.
“Our bipartisan delegation focused on establishing international AI safety standards, how China could benefit from opening financial and tech sectors to more US firms, the peaceful existence and non-coercion of Taiwan, and the importance of the recognition of a Palestinian state by the UN’s permanent members,” he said in October.
“Our biggest push was to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US, and I’m excited to work with [US Treasury] Secretary Bessent and China to schedule the chemical precursors to fentanyl.”
His statement on Monday addressed similar themes but emphasised reducing dependence on China.
“We need an economic and strategic reset to build critical industries at home, open lines of communication, prioritise effective military deterrence, and tackle the opioid crisis that has torn families and communities apart,” he said.
“We also need a Manhattan Project to source and process critical minerals so that we are not dependent on China for rare earths and magnets,” he said, adding that he hopes to ensure that the US leads in AI and innovation.
Khanna currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Like Krishnamoorthi, he also serves on the House Oversight Committee and is a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which advocates on issues affecting the Asian-American community.
Khanna is a co-chair of the congressional caucus focused on India and Indian-Americans.
He is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which represents the left-leaning, anti-interventionist faction of the Democratic Party, and a co-founder of the Congressional War Powers Caucus, which focuses on reaffirming Congress’s constitutional responsibility in matters of war and peace.
Khanna has repeatedly worked with the anti-war activist group Code Pink, which pushes for engagement over confrontation when dealing with Beijing.
Similar to his Democratic colleagues, Khanna has voted against Republican proposals that would restrict US-China educational cooperation, Chinese property ownership, and American access to Chinese electric-vehicle components.
Bipartisan panel created to hold China accountable
The bipartisan panel led by Republican John Moolenaar, whose full name is the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Communist Party, was created in January 2023 – a project of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a reflection of the bipartisan consensus that China was a challenge to be tackled.
As a “select” rather than a standing committee, it needs to be reauthorised at the start of each new congressional session, which lasts for two years.
It is also an advisory panel, intended to investigate, hold hearings and make policy recommendations, not advance legislation – though individual members can introduce bills and resolutions for consideration by other committees.
Since its inception, the committee has addressed a wide range of issues, from combating tariff evasion by Chinese companies to increasing scrutiny of Sino-American academic partnerships.
Supporters commend it for convening ideas to counter Beijing and for spotlighting the need to overhaul the rules of engagement that have governed US-China relations since China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Critics, meanwhile, have condemned the panel for stoking fears of a US-China war, pushing a simplistic, zero-sum view and fuelling anti-Asian hate.
In a statement on Monday, Krishnamoorthi highlighted the panel’s bipartisan record and called for a serious, measured approach to addressing challenges posed by China.
“We built a credible, bipartisan Committee that strengthened US economic and national security while keeping American competitiveness at the centre of our work,” he said.
“The challenge posed by China is among the defining tests of our time. It spans the economic, technological and military domains, and it defies easy answers.
“Meeting its demands requires nuance and seriousness, a commitment to practical and enforceable policy solutions, and an unwavering resolve to strengthen American competitiveness without succumbing to fear or prejudice.”
Jeffries, in a Monday statement, said Khanna will serve as the top Democrat until the end of the current congressional session, which ends in January 2027.
“I am grateful to Congressman Ro Khanna for his willingness to take on the role of leading House Democrats on the Select Committee as Ranking Member for the duration of the Congress,” Jeffries stated.
“Through his work on the Committee and across the Congress, Representative Khanna has proven to be a fighter for our nation and the health, safety and well-being of the American people.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
