11 Democrats named to US-China competition panel, led by Asian-American congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi

New ranking member of House select committee tasked with monitoring Chinese Communist Party’s progress urges against ‘dangerous rhetoric’

Krishnamoorthi joins Republican Michelle Steel and fellow Democrats Ro Khanna and Andy Kim as other panel members of Asian descent

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House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks to the media in Washington on Thursday. The New York congressman had faced calls to name an Asian-American to head his party’s contingent on the select committee on China. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:45am, 3 Feb 2023Updated: 1:40am, 1 Mar 2023

Corrected [1:39am, 1 Mar, 2023]

[1:39am, 1 Mar, 2023]
This story was revised to change the number of Democrats on the US-China competition panel to 11. An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that the number was 10.

Eleven Democratic members of the House select committee on US-China competition were named on Wednesday, completing the panel’s roster about a week after 13 Republican members were announced.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, will take the top Democratic seat on the panel, which is tasked with investigating and submitting recommendations on “the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and security progress and its competition with the United States”.

The other ten Democrats named to the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party are Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts; Shontel Brown of Ohio; André Carson of Indiana; Kathy Castor of Florida; Ro Khanna of California; Andy Kim of New Jersey; Seth Moulton of Massachusetts; Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey; Haley Stevens of Michigan; and Ritchie Torres of New York.

The panel, established last month with bipartisan support, cannot make or amend laws but has the authority to hold public hearings in line with its investigative functions. It is required to submit policy recommendations to standing committees by the end of 2023.

Krishnamoorthi was born in India and immigrated to the United States as an infant. His appointment came after some lawmakers urged House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to appoint an Asian-American to head the party’s contingent on concerns the panel would fuel xenophobia and bigotry.