Congress must pass the CROOK Act to stop China’s corruption

• China has taken the art of state-backed corruption to a new and dangerous level.
• How Congress responds will determine whether the U.S. spends the next quarter century leading the way in anti-corruption, or reacting to an increasingly destabilizing series of Chinese kleptocracy.
• A bipartisan bill to oppose the strategic use of corruption by China has just been passed and should be included in any final China-focused bill that Congress approves
• Scott Greytak is the Director of Advocacy for Transparency International.
• This is an opinion section. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to the world at one acute nationalist address from Tiananmen Square. Xi boasted of “China ‘s new model of human progress” and the Chinese Communist Party’ s intention to “build a new kind of international relations”. “Any foreign force that would try to harass the Chinese people, the president said, would”their heads are bloody“

World diplomats are increasingly learning to take China by its word. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi recently warned of increased cooperation between the Chinese and Russian governments. That renewed friendship can mean a new growth state-sponsored corruption that threatens American national security and weakens our competition abroad.

Congress is struggling with its toolkit created to counter the growing influence of Chinese and Russian corruption campaigns. The House Foreign Affairs Committee recently passed the Anti-Russian and Foreign Kleptocracy Act (CROOK Act), legislation that marks miles in the US new road to fight global corruption that will create for the first time a dedicated “Anti-Corruption Action Fund”. This fund can be used to support anti-corruption efforts abroad, including efforts to counter China’s strategic use of corruption to increase its economic and political influence in key parts of the world.

E CROOK Act arrives just as Congress begins its negotiations on a broader China-focused bill, a key piece of foreign policy legislation that the Biden administration is eager to pass with bipartisan support. Those discussions present a timely and consequential opportunity to launch a broad-based approach to combating Chinese corruption campaigns abroad. The fastest way to strengthen America’s defense is to ensure that CROOK is included in the final China-focused package.

The crooked agenda

While the CROOK Act has wide-ranging applications to combat the growing wave of kleptocracy that translates to “thieves rule” and other examples of state-sponsored corruption around the world, China has raised the art of state-sponsored strife in a new and dangerous level. . The Chinese Community Party is now known for using bribery and other forms of corruption to expand China’s economic and political influence around the world, undermining the rule of law and democratic systems along the way.

At Transparency International, we have seen China traces of the snake of corruption in almost every part of the world, from Africa to Southeast Asia to Mexico. In many cases, the ensuing social and economic chaos further destabilizes the regions and restores the clock of good governance.

The presidents of Chad and Uganda, for example, were offered bribes of $ 2 million and $ 500,000, respectively, by the chief executive of a Chinese energy conglomerate closely linked to the Chinese government in exchange for opening the country’s oil and gas markets to Chinese businesses. . Through such extensive corruption schemes exploited by developing nations, China is able to “ARMED[e] corruption to advance his national interests.”

In both Chad and Uganda, prominent local lawyers and politicians, including Chad opposition leader Succs Masra and Ugandan presidential candidate Bobby Wine, have called on the United States to help promote civil rights, and accountability in government. In those countries, targeted new support for strengthening legal and institutional frameworks against corruption, and for effectively prosecuting major corruption cases, respectively, can help ensure stronger civic spaces and a more competitive business climate.

Nowhere does China’s corruption appear as openly as in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an international corruption scheme clothed in the language of economic development and interconnectedness. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies notes that for China, opportunities for state-sponsored corruption are not a mistake in BRI programming, they are a key feature.

“China-driven corruption now permeates high-profile BRI projects,” writes the Senior Adviser of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Elaine Dezenski. “Chinese influence is still close to its high water level,” she notes, and “BRI recipients may be even more dependent on Beijing as they face the post-pandemic economic recovery.”

Any corrupt and destabilizing agreement signed by the Chinese government has major implications for American economic vitality and national security. Without new tools to counter the export of corruption from China, the United States will eventually feel the economic and governing dependence of Chinese corruption. That’s where CROOK comes into play.

CROOK would help counter foreign corrupt influence across the globe by establishing sources of rapid response to anti-corruption voices in foreign governments, civil society groups, and media organizations when integrity is under threat. Dedicated CROOK anti-corruption funds will create a background for clean and ethical governance and help anti-corruption champions fight against authoritarian influence.

The flexibility of CROOK funds is what gives the law a huge impact. American foreign aid is often planned years ago, has already been talked about, or is surrounded by bureaucracy and bureaucracy. CROOK takes a different path by allowing the US government to distribute anti-corruption funds in different ways depending on the situation on the ground. This flexibility is key to meeting moments of opportunity, crisis or transition.

For example, with a longer runway, grant recipients can apply for and receive CROOK funding through a competitive review process. With a shorter response window, recipients can be selected from a group of pre-cleared beneficiaries. And when time is of the essence, U.S. ambassadors can distribute CROOK funds at their discretion, similar to the way the U.S. Agency for International Development provides disaster relief.

The CROOK Act presents an opportunity for Congress to make substantial improvements in America’s economic security, also proving that our lawmakers can still convene to address critical issues of international importance. Without improved CROOK protections, US companies doing business abroad will eventually fall into the trap of China’s influence. At that point, policy precautions will be too little, too late.

How Congress responds to China’s increasingly open international corruption will determine whether the United States will spend the next quarter century leading the fight against corruption or responding to an increasingly destabilizing series of Chinese adventures in open kleptocracy. . The House of Representatives and Senate must now act with a common sense of purpose and urgency to ensure that the CROOK Act is included in their latest China-focused policy package.