Sec. 182. Authorization of appropriations for countering the People’s Republic of China Influence Fund
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There is authorized to be appropriated $600,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 for the Countering the People’s Republic of China Influence Fund to counter PRC malign influence. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authorization are authorized to remain available until expended and shall be in addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated to counter such influence. The Secretary of State shall designate an existing senior official as the Coordinator for the Countering the People’s Republic of China Influence Fund (in this section referred to as Coordinator ) to provide policy guidance, coordination within the Department and the interagency as appropriate, and recommendations for the obligation of funds authorized pursuant to subsection (a).
The Coordinator designated pursuant to paragraph
(1)shall be responsible for— on an annual basis, the identification of specific strategic priorities for using the funds authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), such as geographic areas of focus or functional categories of programming that funds are to be concentrated within, consistent with the national interests of the United States and the purposes of this section; the coordination and approval of all programming conducted using the funds authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), based on an assessment that such programming directly counters PRC malign influence, including specific activities or policies advanced by such influence, pursuant to the strategic objectives of the United States; ensuring that all programming approved bears a sufficiently direct nexus to countering PRC malign influence and adheres to the requirements outlined in subsection (d); conducting oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of all programming conducted using the funds authorized to be appropriated under subsection
(a)to ensure that it advances United States interests and degrades the ability of the Government of the PRC, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or entities acting on their behalf, to advance the activities described in subsection (c); and ensuring, to the maximum extent practicable, that all approved programming under subsection
(a)is carried out in coordination with other Federal activities to counter the malign influence and activities of the Government of the PRC, the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf. The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall designate an official with direct responsibility for policy with respect to the PRC to assist the Coordinator designated pursuant to paragraph (1), particularly with respect to such assistance handled by the United States Agency for International Development. In this section, the term PRC malign influence means influence of the Government of the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP)or entities acting on their behalf globally that— undermines a free and open international order; advances an alternative, repressive international order that bolsters the PRC or the Chinese Communist Party’s hegemonic ambitions and is characterized by coercion and dependency; undermines the national security, territorial integrity, or sovereignty of the United States or other countries; or undermines the political and economic security of the United States or other countries, including by promoting corruption or elite capture, and advancing coercive economic practices. In this section, countering malign influence through the use of funds authorized to be appropriated by subsection
(a)include efforts— to promote transparency and accountability, and reduce corruption, including in governance structures targeted by the malign influence of the Government of the PRC or the CCP; to support civil society and independent media to raise awareness of and increase transparency regarding the negative impact of activities and initiatives of the Government of the PRC and the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf, including the Belt and Road Initiative and other initiatives that lack transparency, fail to meet international standards, and are associated with coercive economic practices; to counter transnational criminal networks that benefit, or benefit from, the malign influence of the Government of the PRC, the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf; to encourage economic development structures that help protect against predatory lending schemes, including support for market-based alternatives in key economic sectors, such as digital economy, energy, and infrastructure; to counter activities that provide undue influence to the security forces of the PRC; to expose foreign influence operations and propaganda of the Government of the PRC, the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf; to counter efforts by the Government of the PRC, the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf to legitimize or promote authoritarian ideology and governance models, including its model of a state-dominated cyber and digital ecosystem; to counter efforts by the Government of the PRC, the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf, to silence, intimidate, or exact reprisal against individuals outside of their sovereign borders, including members of diaspora populations such as political opponents, repressed religious or spiritual practitioners, marginalized ethnic community members, civil society activists, human rights defenders, researchers, and journalists; to provide alternatives to problematic PRC technology offerings, which could provide the Government of the PRC undue access to or influence over global data flows or sensitive information, and compete with problematic PRC efforts to leverage or make gains in the development of advanced and emerging technologies; to counter PRC activities that directly enable critical supply chain monopolization or other monopolistic practices; to counter aggressive PRC efforts to make inroads into the nuclear energy sectors of countries to the detriment of United States national security, strategic, and nonproliferation interests; and to counter efforts by the Government of the PRC, the CCP, or entities acting on their behalf, to undermine the democratic processes and institutions of United States allies and partners.