Rubio tells appropriators China tech transfers and student vetting are high priorities; committee presses on religious freedom

At the hearing, members and Secretary of State Marco Rubio focused on China as a central national security challenge in multiple areas: technology transfers, university research, and religious freedom.

Rubio told the subcommittee the administration is coordinating with Commerce on export‑control reviews and raising the issue with partners at NATO and other gatherings. He characterized China’s industrial and civil‑military fusion as a systemic risk and said that, under Chinese law, companies must comply with government orders to turn over technology. "We have to assume that basically every country or any company that operates in communist China is under the control of the CCP," Rubio said. He said the U.S. will work to protect dual‑use technologies and press allies to adopt similar guardrails.

Members raised concerns about Chinese students in U.S. colleges and universities and their potential role in technology transfer. Rubio said front‑end vetting and interagency proposals are under discussion, and that some cases of suspected misuse are straightforward while others are complicated by threats to students’ families back home.

Separately, Rep. Molar asked about new Chinese laws curtailing religious practice. Rubio said the department continues to call out religious‑freedom violations and will use diplomatic channels and international pressure to highlight abuses, citing precedent with the Uighur situation.

Lawmakers asked for sustained attention across all three fronts — export controls, campus vetting and religious‑freedom advocacy — and Rubio said the administration views these issues as among the highest priorities in diplomatic engagements with allies.