How will you address the challenge of China?

Last week, the Senate began confirmation hearings, a process that will take up quite a bit of time over the next several months. During these hearings, President Donald Trump’s picks to lead agencies and departments will go before senators to explain their perspectives on a host of issues. There will be plenty of headlines and certainly some moments where senators will go after some contentious lines of questioning.

This process is part of the constitutional power of “advise and consent” invested in the upper chamber of Congress. At times, there will be seemingly unfair questions about a nominee’s past or personal life. If done right, most of the questions will generally revolve around policy and philosophy of governance. Specifically, questions about how the nominee would handle certain circumstances or challenges their office may face.

The one question I hope all nominees are asked is: How will they and their team address the unique threats posed by China? At first blush, this seems like an obvious question for some positions, especially for Pete Hegseth as he prepares to lead the Department of Defense against emerging threats, or Marco Rubio, regarding how his State Department will contain China’s clear intentions to move on Taiwan. The United States must have an all-of-government approach to address the growing challenges of China.

This should not be just a question for offices that engage in foreign policy, for it truly is essential for all agencies, even those not usually associated with mitigating the threat of foreign actors. For example, designated Treasury positions will have an incredibly important task ahead as the department plays a central role in reducing emerging risks posed by China. One way the Treasury does that is by implementing restrictions on outbound investments from the United States into specific Chinese sectors considered critical to national security, particularly those related to semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technologies, thus limiting American funding to these sensitive areas within the Chinese economy.

Another area where this need is also obvious is in efforts to secure internet networks and cybersecurity. Whether we are talking about the leader of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, or even the National Telecommunications and Information Administration administrator, all of these policymakers and agencies should be on the same page in establishing and implementing policies geared toward securing our nation’s networks.

To that end, nominees should be asked about their familiarity with the clear and present threats posed to American consumers’ data by TP-Link Wi-Fi routers. According to a recent study, “a Chinese hacking entity maintains a large network of compromised network devices mostly comprising thousands of TP-Link routers. The network has been used by numerous Chinese actors to launch cyberattacks.” How will nominees work to reverse and protect our entire internet ecosystem from these vulnerabilities?

Yet another example of domestic policy agencies that should be thinking about ways to mitigate rising threats from China is the Food and Drug Administration. Nominees should be asked how they would protect against the threat of Chinese food and drug products entering our marketplace without undergoing the level of scrutiny for the quality we require of American companies.

Take tobacco products, for example. The U.S. market has been flooded with electronic cigarettes and vape cartridges from China. As Marco Rubio explained in a letter, “The vast majority of Chinese vapes are not FDA-approved or regulated; as a result, millions of Americans are consuming untested and dangerous vaping products.” Just this week, the FDA seized $7 million worth of illegal Chinese e-cigarettes. While this number is impressive, it’s merely a drop in the bucket of the entire market. The question for the next FDA administrator should be what more will he do to protect against these illegal and unsafe food, medicine, and drug products that are infiltrating the United States.?

To counter the rising challenges emanating from China, the United States must take a holistic approach, leveraging all tools at our disposal against China’s rising influence and efforts to challenge the freedoms and economic prosperity we enjoy. For the United States to accomplish this task, it is imperative that the personnel leading agencies and departments are prepared to face these challenges head-on. Instead of scoring political points or trying to show off for the cameras, the senators and committees of jurisdiction should be focused on making sure these nominees understand what’s before them and are in close partnership with Congress to weaken the Chinese threat.