WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security said on Tuesday he expects to see the revival of a Justice Department program focused on fighting Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft.
Speaking to the conservative Hudson (NYSE: HUD ) Institute think tank, Rep. Mark Green highlighted Chinese infiltration and espionage threats targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, from port cranes to power plants.
He stressed the need for a national strategy to deal with cyber threats and to take the offensive against China.
"We're in a conflict with China on multiple levels, and too many people are asleep at the wheel," he said.
With President-elect Donald Trump set to return to office on Jan. 20, Green was asked if he expected the revival of the China Initiative from the first Trump presidency, which critics said involved racial profiling and created a culture of fear that chilled scientific research.
"Yes, I think you'll see that," he said.
In ending the program in 2022, the Biden administration said this was done in recognition that the focus on China was too limited and there was a need to address threats from a broader array of hostile nations.
U.S. agencies and Congress have nevertheless stepped up scrutiny of China's state-sponsored influence and technology transfers at American colleges and universities, concerned that Beijing uses open and federally funded research environments in the U.S. to circumvent export controls and other national security laws.