House Armed Services Committee to Hold Hearing on CNOOC/Unocal Deal
The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow, July 13, 2005, to receive testimony on the national security implications of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd.'s (CNOOC) proposed acquisition of Unocal Corporation. The witnesses scheduled to appear include:
--Honorable C. Richard D'Amato, Chairman, U.S.- China Economic and Security Review Commission
--Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., President and CEO, The Center for Security Policy
-- Additional witnesses may be added.
The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in room 2118 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
On a related note, Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Jim Bunning (R-KY) have sent a letter to the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative asking them to look into whether Beijing's financial support for CNOOC violates World Trade Organization rules. The senators claim that the financing provided by Chinese state-owned banks for the proposed acquisition is direct and improper state subsidy.