Last week saw a number of foreign policy-focused congressional hearings in the United States centered on Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. Even amid this ongoing war in Europe, many legislators and national security officials took the time to discuss the continued threats posed by the “pacing challenge”: the People’s Republic of China.

On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations convened a hearing with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the U.S. response.

“Would China have the capacity to influence [Putin’s] decisions at this stage, and are they trying to do so?” asked Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) at the hearing.

“The Chinese like to say that they are neutral in this conflict,” responded Under Secretary Nuland. “Chancellor Scholz and President Macron talked to Xi Jinping just today to impress upon the Chinese that neutrality is not an option here, that this is a violation of international humanitarian law… that they should not want to stand with somebody who would exact this kind of brutality on his own people, that they should be pushing Putin to stop, that they should be pushing for humanitarian corridors, that they should be thinking about their own strategic and economic interests as this war ramps up energy prices and makes it harder for them.” She further noted that China recently experienced its slowest growth rates in 15 years, showing that China’s own best interest lies in helping the war come to an end.

In another Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday entitled “Examining U.S. Security Cooperation and Assistance,” legislators again interspersed their lengthy discussion on Ukraine with questions to executive branch experts on issues related to China.

“We cannot permit Vladimir Putin’s reckless actions to undermine our long-term strategic imperatives in the Indo-Pacific,” remarked Senator Todd Young (R-IN) to Mara Elizabeth Karlin, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities. “Can you commit that changes to our strategy in Europe will not undermine both our commitments to Taiwan and our efforts to increase their resistance to the Chinese Communist Party’s pressure, including their defensive military capabilities?”

“I can assure you that, as Secretary [Lloyd] Austin has said, China is the pacing challenge for the U.S. Department of Defense. We are of course accounting for Russian aggression as well… Regarding support for Taiwan, it is absolutely a priority to ensure that Taiwan is getting the asymmetric capabilities that it needs,” Assistant Secretary Karlin replied.

The House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee also each hosted members of the Intelligence Community at hearings last week for an annual assessment of “worldwide threats.” Testimony from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, CIA Director, FBI Director, NSA Director, and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director focused primarily on threats from Russia, China, and Iran. While Russia was once again a main focus of the hearings given the timing of its Ukraine invasion, the Intelligence Community concurred with their Department of Defense and Department of State colleagues that China remains the most pressing challenge for the United States abroad.

Similar themes were echoed by various legislators and witnesses across the week’s committee hearings: that China must be leveraged to assist in ending Putin’s war of aggression, that China continues to pose the most significant long-term threat to the United States, and that more must be done to ensure that Taiwan is not next on the authoritarian chopping block.

All mentions of China and related topics at the aforementioned hearings can be found in compilations on the China Policy Research YouTube page.