GOP chairman subpoenas State Department for China-related documents  

The top House Republican with oversight of foreign affairs has subpoenaed the State Department for documents about its sanctions policies toward China following reports the agency held back on punitive measures to improve relations between Washington and Beijing.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, gave Secretary of State Antony Blinken a deadline of July 17 to hand over documents and communications related to proposed U.S. sanctions against China and conversations about their rollout. 

The subpoena was signed and delivered to the State Department on Tuesday, McCaul said in a statement. 

The subpoena is related to McCaul’s request in May for documents related to reports that the State Department held back a slew of punitive measures against Beijing to stabilize the relationship, which had soured in the wake of the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon over the U.S. in February. Reuters initially reported on the documents.

McCaul said failure by State to comply with his May request led to the subpoena. 

“It is vital the committee obtain these documents to shed light on the department’s reported failure to enforce U.S. national security laws against CCP [Chinese Communist Party] companies and human rights abusers. The department must comply as legally obligated, further obstruction and delay will not be tolerated,” he said in a statement. 

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a briefing on Wednesday that the department was engaging with the committee in “good faith” over its requests when the chairman “short-circuited” the process and issued the subpoena.

Miller added that the department is challenged by a “growing number” of requests from Republican-led House committees and said the House Foreign Affairs Committee has shifted priorities “when they issue a range of document requests.”

“So we will continue to try to work with them to meet their legitimate needs while balancing the fact that we have to fulfill other requests as well,” he said.

McCaul’s request for China-related documents is centered on concerns that State held back on human rights-related sanctions or export controls, among other things, to improve U.S. relations with Beijing.  

Reuters reported that Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of State for China and Taiwan, emailed staff that Blinken was directing staff “to push non-balloon actions to the right so we can focus on symmetric and calibrated response. We can revisit other actions in a few weeks.”

The discovery of the Chinese spy balloon led to the cancellation of a trip to China by Blinken. The visit was carried out in June after intensive diplomacy by President Biden’s senior officials, including a trip to Beijing by CIA Director Bill Burns. 

Biden has pursued a policy of engagement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a strategy aimed at managing tensions from spiraling into open conflict. 

Democrats and Republicans, in a rare example of unity, see China as a pressing challenge to U.S. security and economic and diplomatic strength. But the parties are split over how to approach the issue, with Republicans more critical of the administration.

–Updated on July 13 at 8:01 a.m.