Several witnesses told senators that China’s recent activities indicate an integrated push across civil, commercial and military space capabilities and that the United States must respond with a unified national strategy for the Earth–Moon system. Lieutenant General John Shaw, the former deputy commander of U.S. Space Command, said China is operating with "only superficial distinction between civil, commercial, and national security activities" and argued that the U.S. lacks a comparable, coordinated grand strategy. "If we do not unify and synchronize our efforts, we will find ourselves…in a position of increasing disadvantage in space," Ranking Member Maria Cantwell quoted Shaw as saying during her remarks. Why it matters: witnesses framed control of cislunar transit, communications and logistics as strategic leverage that would shape international partnerships, resource access and military options. Examples cited in the hearing: - Michael Gold and Lieutenant General Shaw described recent Chinese demonstrations of on‑orbit docking and apparent refueling, and Shaw cited open‑source reporting that China performed what he characterized as a large maneuver in geosynchronous orbit following a dock and fuel transfer. - Witnesses called for improved cislunar domain awareness (tracking and attribution of objects around the Moon), a resilient cislunar communications architecture and a national logistics infrastructure that includes on‑orbit manufacturing, assembly and refueling. - Jim Bridenstine warned of architectural risks in current U.S. lunar landing plans and described complexity and untested elements in the commercial Starship‑centric approach. "We don't have a landing system for the moon," Bridenstine said, and he outlined technical dependencies—cryogenic in‑space refueling, multiple Starship flights for orbital fuel transfer, and docking and crew transfer—that remain unproven at scale. Discussion vs. action: witnesses recommended specific capabilities and policy directions—domain awareness, cislunar communications, nuclear surface power and an integrated logistics architecture—but the hearing produced no legislative action; senators asked for follow‑up briefings and written responses. Ending: Committee members emphasized urgency; several senators asked for classified briefings or deeper technical assessments of China’s capabilities and U.S. readiness.