Economic Troubles Could Make China's Xi 'Lash Out,' US Lawmaker Warns

A U.S. lawmaker has said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping could "lash out" amid troubles at home as China's economy falters.

"He could lash out, he could say screw it, I don't know how to fix this thing. We are going to go for it. We are going to play the nationalism card," Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said on Tuesday.

"We have to hedge our bets that Xi Jinping could lash out."

Krishnamoorthi was speaking alongside Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), also on the Select Committee on CCP, at an event by the Harvard Kennedy School.

"It is irresponsible for POTUS to say that because China has economic problems, they are not going to make a move on Taiwan. The opposite could just as well be true." Gallagher said during the same event.

"China has massive economic problems internally," Krishnamoorthi added.

Gallagher is set to visit Taipei next week with a delegation of lawmakers, signaling support for Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's president-elect, ahead of his May inauguration, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

This visit underscores U.S. backing for Lai, who is currently the vice-president of Taiwan and has been labeled a "dangerous separatist" by Beijing. The trip occurs amid warnings from Washington to China against any aggressive moves toward Taiwan in the lead-up to Lai's presidency, succeeding Tsai Ing-wen.

Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin known for his hawkish stance on China, will arrive in Taiwan on February 21, accompanied by seven U.S. lawmakers, as confirmed by sources including two Taiwanese officials, according to the Financial Times.

Gallagher recently announced his decision to not run for Congress for a fifth term, which will mean stepping down from the CCP Select Committee.

In response, China reiterated its criticism of U.S. interference in Taiwan, a territory it claims sovereignty over. This visit follows the restoration of U.S.-China military communications, which had been severed since Nancy Pelosi's 2022 visit to Taiwan, and after a summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Gallagher's group is expected to meet with Lai and Han Kuo-yu, the opposition's legislative Speaker.

"Even as we maintain strategic ambiguity with respect to Taiwan whether we would get involved it might make sense to have strategic clarity on the nature of our economic response right like we would when we want to work out the economic and financial escalation ladder prior to things going boom because we have a well thought out theory on the conventional military side and to some respect even on the strategic military side but not on the economic and financial side" Gallagher said the event on the need to clarify U.S. stake in Taiwan's defense.

Chinese state media have objected to Gallagher's upcoming visit.

"From the mainland's perspective, such actions are seen as more provocative than conducive to peace, prompting targeted and assertive responses," the Global Times said on Thursday.

The Global Times described Gallagher as a "retiring China hawk."

"The primary objective of Gallagher's visit is to demonstrate continued support from the US Congress for Taiwan island, particularly following the recent elections in the region, and to bolster connections between the island and the US, while further distancing it from the mainland" Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times in an interview.