OPINION:
From blocking investigations into the origins of COVID-19 to suppressing freedom in Hong Kong and militarizing the South China Sea, the Chinese Communist Party continues to put America and the rest of the world on alert.
As China stokes tensions through repeated incursions into Taiwan’s airspace, hypersonic missile tests, human rights violations and genocide and “hostage diplomacy,” the U.S. continues to cede leverage. China escapes accountability by exercising control over crucial global supply chains in virtually every field, as there are few products left in the U.S. whose supply chain doesn’t intersect with CCP control.
President Biden and Democrats in Congress continue to undercut domestic energy production and innovation while the Chinese stand ready to capitalize off our self-sabotaging policies. The CCP’s control over supply chains is inextricably tied to the minerals market it dominates. China is the leading producer and consumer of many minerals and metals in high demand in the U.S, as the Chinese account for over 80% of the global market of rare-earth minerals.
With “climate change” as the pretext, the U.S. has pursued energy and environmental policies based on the fallacy that America’s actions alone will have a substantial impact on combating global warming. Through innovation and not over-prescriptive government regulation, the U.S. has reduced annual emissions by nearly 10% since the turn of the century, while China’s carbon output is now 2.5 times that of the U.S.
As we inhibit our energy sector, the Chinese are driving full speed ahead with their nuclear ambitions, which should serve as a wake-up call. Environmental Justice has been the new rallying cry of the left, but unfortunately, that call to action stops at the water’s edge. This bullish pursuit of “green” energy is hopelessly dependent on a supply chain controlled 80% by China, some of it sourced from slave labor.
While the left dreams of a grid powered 100% by wind and solar, China plans on powering its electrified economy with nuclear fission. China built 20 new reactors between 2016 and 2020, including the world’s first AP-1000 reactors, and recently brought online the world’s first Gen-IV reactor. Reports detail CCP’s ambitious goal of building 150 reactors in 15 years for $440B — more than the rest of the world has built in the last 35 years! Lacking large uranium reserves, China is also pursuing next-gen thorium reactors with R&D costs alone pegged at $3.3B. Meanwhile, Congress is destroying a vital inventory that could help kickstart American thorium energy R&D.
Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee currently houses a reserve of Uranium-233, which is the necessary seed for thorium reactors and can serve as an invaluable resource. While we are currently destroying this reserve and national security asset, China is investing in technology to produce this material. China’s nuclear capacity is poised to surpass the U.S. by 2026, and in the business-as-usual scenario, we are staring at a future where the U.S. economy is dependent on the CCP for clean energy technologies.
A major challenge with developing such projects in the U.S. is regulatory uncertainty. U.S. nuclear regulators take twice as long to approve reactor designs as those in Canada and the U.K., forcing some companies to seek licenses elsewhere. Congress should act to ensure that licensing does not remain a burden in bringing new reactor technologies online. We should incentivize the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies to revolutionize the way we think about energy and provide an opportunity to deliver clean and reliable power to millions of people.
To unlock this future, the U.S. must reassess the burdensome licensing for nuclear reactors. It is possible to update this process by eliminating duplicative licensing requirements while preserving environmental protection and the world’s nuclear safety gold standard. The Chinese dominate the market, and with that comes a “soft-power” tool, the ability to export their technologies and set global nuclear norms. The U.S. has the ability to prevent this and preserve our position as a global nuclear leader.
Congress has already declared strategic competition with China as a priority. Extending that spirit, Congressional intervention must focus on reducing regulatory red tape that is holding back the American economy. Environmental permitting laws need to be streamlined so that perfect doesn’t become the enemy of good. That means acquiring a mining permit should not take three times longer than it does in Canada and Australia, countries with comparably good environmental records. Congress should endeavor to proactively direct federal agencies to prioritize reestablishing critical supply chains domestically. Congress should also incentivize both domestic and international companies to site their facilities in the U.S. moving forward, such as the new TSMC foundry planned in Arizona.
We have allowed the CCP to get away with murder (quite literally) and have given them a pass on labor, environmental or health standards for decades. Whether intentionally or by negligence, they are responsible for a pandemic that shut down countries, ruined economies and killed millions of people. We cannot continue to pursue policies that neglect to hold China accountable. Drawing a line on armed conflict, America must meet this challenge on the technological, economic and political front, unleashing domestic production and energy independence.
• Jeff Duncan is an American politician who has been the United States representative for South Carolina’s 3rd congressional district since 2011.
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