VIDEO: Senate Hearing on PRC and Taiwan Diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere

Dr. Evan Ellis had this to say about his testimony on Substack:

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Dear Colleagues:

On March 26, 2025, I was honored to have the opportunity to testify on “PRC influence and the Status of Taiwan’s Diplomatic Allies in the Western Hemisphere,” before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, chaired by the Honorable Senator John Curtis, with the Honorable Senator Tim Kaine as the ranking Minority member.

In that testimony, I emphasized that:

• Since 2005, PRC-based companies have invested $203 billion in Latin America, while its bilateral trade with the region has reached $500 billion.
• China has built significant “people-to-people” networks in the region, including 44 Confucius Centers. It provides paid trips for numerous academics, politicians, police and military, and even judges. It similarly has paid for trips for journalists such as Leo Rubin and Kike Gamarra of Paraguay, and Juan Canel Cabrera and Claudia Mendez of Guatemala, among many. It supplies free media content reflecting PRC narratives. It curries favor with Chambers of Commerce, and “friendship” caucuses in its legislatures. It does all this to buy goodwill, access, and intelligence.
• The PRC’s dominant position in the region’s digital infrastructure, including Huawei in telecommunications and cloud services (including for the Mexican and other governments), plus Hikvision surveillance systems, and Nuctec customs scanners. These create risks of both espionage and intellectual property theft.
• China props up authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela, not only through loans, but systems that support repression, including riot control vehicles and facial recognition cameras for tracking down protesters.
• If the PRC starts a war with the US, its surveillance facilities in Cuba, and its commercial operations close to the US, could be used as launch points to disrupt US force deployment and sustainment.
• In Panama, in beyond Hutchinson’s two “not yet sold” ports, the operations of COSCO, CCCC, and numerous other Chinese companies give it the combination of physical presence, technical knowledge, and relationships to shut down the canal. The China-friendly firm Notarc has assets from the defunct China Landbridge venture, which it may use in a new bid for the Panama Colon Container Port.
• In Peru, COSCO’s exclusive control over the port of Chancay could allow it to resupply PLA Naval Forces in the Eastern Pacific in time of war.
• PRC access to Space from the Western Hemisphere, including not only the PLA-operated facility in Neuquen, but also others in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Chile (including the Ventarrones facility), could allow it to target US satellites and attack the US from space.

With respect to Taiwan, I noted that our partner’s survival as an autonomous, democratic entity is critical to peace in Asia, and to limiting both PRC projection in the Pacific as well as influence in the Americas.

• As the number of states recognizing Taiwan dwindles, CCP confidence that it can end Taiwan’s autonomy at acceptable cost grow, increasing the risk of a major war. In the last seven year, five of the 12 nations in this hemisphere that recognized Taiwan have abandoned it for the PRC.
• The results for those regimes that switched have been largely negative. Indeed, none of those who switched, meaningfully increased exports or actual Chinese investment from the move. Moreover, their PRC imports grew rapidly, harming local businesses.
• Those diplomatic switches also allowed the PRC to rapidly expand its presence and influence, through MOUs, FTAs, training programs for government officials, Confucius Institutes, infrastructure projects, and paid trips to the PRC.
• Of Taiwan’s remaining friends, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña remains steadfast. Still the PRC is constantly wooing Paraguay’s elites. One illustration is the PRC agent Xu Wei who entered the country under false pretenses to lobby the Paraguayan Congress.
• In the Caribbean, although the March 12 election victory of the incumbent People’s United Party decreases the risk of change there, still, small governments including Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincents and the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia, are tempted by the money of Chinese investors.
• In Haiti, the risk of a Viv Ansanm takeover leading to a lawless criminal government, turning to the PRC for financing.

My recommendations to the Committee included:

• Supporting programs to build partner institutional capacity, in order to evaluate contracts and investments, to fight corruption, and to oversee Chinese commercial and other activities.
• An expanded and less constrained Development Finance Corporation.
• Leveraging democratic partners in Asia and Europe in order to finance and win projects, to deny the space to China.
• Further DoD, DHS, and intelligence community preparation for likely PRC actions in the Western Hemisphere in time of war,
• Strengthened messaging on US commitment to Taiwan, including Congressional delegations there, as well as defense and technology assistance, and
• Greater State Department coordination with Taiwan, Including privileged treatment of those recognizing it, both on economic matters and in international organizations.

Here is a PDF transcript of his testimony.

Video Description from The Union Herald:

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues hearing entitled, “PRC Influence and the Status of Taiwan’s Diplomatic Allies in the Western Hemisphere.” Witnesses Include:

Dr. Evan Ellis, Senior Associate (Non-resident), Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC

Samantha Custer, Director of Policy Analysis, AidData, Global Research Institute, The College of William & Mary

March 26, 2025.