WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on Thursday at a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to evaluate U.S.-China policy in the era of strategic competition with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner.

In a question to Secretary Sherman, Murphy asked how the United States can stem the flow of fentanyl into the country: “China had been the primary driver of illicit fentanyl and related equipment into the United States. China made some decisions internally and the pace of that trade changed, but it just moved. All of a sudden the precursor and the equipment was moving to Mexico. We had had a collaboration with China that we don't have today, and it hasn't resumed since the President's meeting with Xi. Can you talk about how we can rebuild this cooperation, if cooperation is indeed the way to go, and what practical effect did the 2020 designations of a few forensic institutes and laboratories in China have on our ability to work together on this challenge?”

On reports of a U.S. Air Force General’s leaked memo raising the alarm about potential war with China, Murphy asked: “This kind of rhetoric around the U.S.-China relationship, it undermines rather than furthers our goal of avoiding war. We want to be ready for conflict, but our goal is to avoid war. So two questions. One, do you believe that China has made the decision to pursue reunification with Taiwan through force? And two, do you believe that armed conflict between the United States and China is, as this general suggested, inevitable?”

Murphy also highlighted the importance of investing in diplomacy: “Prior to the pandemic, I was in Dublin, and our embassy there told me that in the lead up to my visit there had been a dramatic infusion of Chinese diplomatic personnel to their embassy there. The reason was there was a pending telecommunications tender in Ireland at the time, and the Chinese were able to send in literally dozens of individuals to help Huawei compete. We were represented in our embassy by a very capable defense attaché. But we didn't have the ability, as the Chinese did, to be as nimble in making sure that we are supporting our efforts to make sure that it is Western companies, Western technology that is ultimately being able to keep pace with Chinese technologies.”

Last year, Murphy traveled with U.S. Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.-01) to Colombia and Mexico to discuss the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Last month, he traveled to the Southwest border as part of a bipartisan delegation.

You can read Murphy’s full exchange with Sherman and Ratner:

MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate you raising the challenge of resources in the State Department right now. A quick example of how this plays out in reality. Prior to the pandemic, I was in Dublin, and our embassy there told me that in the lead up to my visit there had been a dramatic infusion of Chinese diplomatic personnel to their embassy there. The reason was there was a pending telecommunications tender in Ireland at the time, and the Chinese were able to send in literally dozens of individuals to help Huawei compete. We were represented in our embassy by a very capable defense attaché. But we didn't have the ability, as the Chinese did, to be as nimble in making sure that we are supporting our efforts to make sure that it is Western companies, Western technology that is ultimately being able to keep pace with Chinese technologies. Just yet another example about how our resources just don't match Chinese resources now, and I appreciate the chairman for making that a priority.

“I'll try to sneak in one question for each of you. Wanted to talk to you, Secretary Sherman, about the challenge of fentanyl. We saw in 2019 that things changed. China had been the primary driver of illicit fentanyl and related equipment into the United States. China made some decisions internally and the pace of that trade changed, but it just moved. All of a sudden the precursor and the equipment was moving to Mexico. We had had a collaboration with China that we don't have today, and it hasn't resumed since the President's meeting with Xi. Can you talk about how we can rebuild this cooperation, if cooperation is indeed the way to go, and what practical effect did the 2020 designations of a few forensic institutes and laboratories in China have on our ability to work together on this challenge?”

SHERMAN: “Senator, I suspect that every single one of us knows a parent who has lost a child to an overdose. I certainly do. This is an incredibly high priority for the President, as you heard in the State of the Union, an incredibly high priority for Secretary Blinken and certainly will be when he does get back to meeting in Beijing, which we will do when we think conditions are right. This will be a topic of conversation.

“Previously, as you noted, the PRC agreed to impose class wide controls on fentanyl in 2019 which brought direct shipments to the United States to almost zero. But we still continue to see PRC precursor chemicals, which are quite concerning being used in illicit fentanyl production. And as you noted, we are now seeing fentanyl come in through Mexico. We have engaged not only Mexico, but other countries to put pressure on China and other countries where their precursor chemicals, not only fentanyl but methamphetamine and other illicit synthetic drugs. This is a really terrible problem. We are taking a laser focus on organizing an international effort to stop this.”

MURPHY: “Thank you Madam Secretary. Secretary Ratner, a short question for you. Recently, U.S. Air Force General Mike Minihan suggested in a memo to his troops that ‘my gut tells me we will fight China in 2025. I hope I am wrong.’ This kind of rhetoric around the U.S.-China relationship, it undermines rather than furthers our goal of avoiding war. We want to be ready for conflict, but our goal is to avoid war.

“So two questions. One, do you believe that China has made the decision to pursue reunification with Taiwan through force, and two, do you believe that armed conflict between the United States and China is, as this general suggested, inevitable?”

SECRETARY RATNER: “Senator, as Secretary Austin has now said repeatedly, he and the Department do not believe that an invasion of Taiwan is imminent or inevitable. That continues to be our assessment. The Department is laser focused on maintaining deterrence today, tomorrow, and into the future. And we're going to continue working with our allies and partners to do what's necessary to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

MURPHY: “Thank you.”

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