House China committee issues its first subpoena

The House Select Committee on China issued its first subpoena last week.

The subpoena ordered the city of Reedley, Calif., to turn over documents and records related to a Chinese-owned lab in the city, Prestige Biotech and Universal Meditech Inc. The subpoena was first reported by Politico and confirmed by The Hill.

The city has turned over large amounts of evidence to the committee, including thousands of pages of documents, hours of video and hundreds of photographs, a source close to the committee told Politico.

“[T]he review of the evidence thus far has identified troubling gaps in safeguards that allowed the clandestine facility to operate with impunity, as well as serious deficiencies in the federal government’s response,” they said.

The committee was formed in January through a bipartisan resolution. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) is the ranking member.

Tensions between the U.S. and China have been increasing in recent years, both on the economic and military fronts.

President Biden visited Vietnam last week as part of ongoing efforts to check China’s growing influence. However, he played down China’s role in the trip when questioned by reporters.

“I don’t want to contain China,” he said. “I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it’s all about.”

Biden administration officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have recently visited China in an effort to facilitate cooperation between Beijing and Washington in areas such as climate change and artificial intelligence.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said bipartisan cooperation in combating China was crucial during debate on the House floor for the creation of the select committee.

“I’ve heard my colleagues on both sides say that the threat posed by Communist China is serious. I fully agree,” he said. “This is an issue that transcends political parties. And creating the select committee on China is our best avenue for addressing it.”

The Hill has reached out to the City of Reedley for comment.