(CNSNews.com) - As China seeks world domination, it is spreading its influence across the globe in various ways, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) said at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
While universities in this country are closing down China's Confucius Institutes, the Chinese government is now buying chairs in various university departments or funding U.S. university research, he said.
"And I was staggered by the amount of money that China is putting into these universities,” undoubtedly to make higher education "soft on China," he added.
Risch asked Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman what can be done to minimize the communist intrusion.
Sherman said the number of Confucius Institutes peaked at 100 in 2018, and "there are now only about 15."
"So putting a spotlight on these issues is very critical to putting pressure on universities to understand what is happening and what they're doing."
Sherman said she greatly appreciates the effort by Congress and the State Department to eliminate the Confucius Institutes, which spread Chinese propaganda to American students.
"In addition, we are, in fact, doing the same thing, putting a spotlight where, in fact, there are other things you mentioned,” such as Chinese police stations in American cities.
Sherman said one Chinese police station in New York City was closed down recently, while she was in Europe.
"And in every capital where I know there are police stations, I have raised this issue," she said. And putting a spotlight on this, asking governments, asking universities to take a look at what they are doing is critical.”
Sherman said the Chinese police stations “aren’t police stations at all. What they are – are policing the diaspora Uyghurs and others in the Chinese orbit, harassing them, putting them at great risk.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray recently expressed concern about the Chinese police stations, which "violate" our sovereignty and "circumvent standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes," he said.
Even as she opposes Chinese infiltration measures, Sherman stressed the importance of "people-to-people" exchanges.
"We have, I think, over 290,000 Chinese students who come to American universities. We are very careful about looking at visas and making sure that in strategic departments where it might influence or create a problem for national security, we do not have those students come.
“But it is very important that we not close down these people-to-people exchanges.
“On the other hand, we only have about, I think, 385 Americans who are studying in China, and we probably need to do something to increase the number of Americans who are willing to study in China.”
Sherman noted that "we have to be very careful" about putting a spotlight on China, that we not increase hate against Asian Americans and the "horrifying” results of such hatred.
"And we have to be very careful that that doesn’t happen, as we, in fact, crack down on exactly the kind of things you've outlined, Senator."
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