I spent 14 years in uniform preparing for the threats America might one day face. I spent another decade in Congress studying the ones already taking shape.
From flying combat rescue helicopters and the B-1 bomber to serving on the House Intelligence Committee and the House China Task Force, the job changed. The question did not: Who threatens America, and how do we stay one step ahead?
For much of my time in Congress, the answer increasingly led back to China.
We worried about Chinese missiles and warships. We worried about espionage, cyberattacks, and the theft of American technology. But we also came to understand something less obvious: China’s growing power depends not only on what Beijing can build but also on the influence it can accumulate.
That is why I’m watching what is happening in South Korea.
South Korea is a critical American ally. Yet at a moment when Seoul is drawing closer to Beijing, American companies are facing increasingly aggressive treatment from the Korean government. Last week, those concerns reached Capitol Hill, where the House Select Committee on China asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take a closer look. He should.
The question is not whether South Korea remains our ally. It does. The question is whether China is finding ways to make that alliance less close, less economically aligned, and, over time, less useful to the United States.
Beijing has been working hard to deepen its relationship with Seoul. Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to South Korea last year for the first time in more than a decade. In January, President Lee Jae-myung made a four-day state visit to China, where the two governments signed 14 agreements covering trade, technology, and other areas.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that on its face. China is South Korea’s largest trading partner and a major regional power.
But Beijing does not view economics and national security as separate arenas. The Chinese Communist Party has spent decades using market access, supply chains, and state-backed companies to build strategic leverage. That is why the treatment of American companies in South Korea deserves attention.
A recent House Judiciary Committee report raised concerns about regulatory barriers facing American businesses in strategically important industries, including cloud computing and digital platforms, with the Korea Fair Trade Commission singled out as particularly problematic in its discriminatory treatment of U.S. companies. Google faces a fine of up to $550 million dollars. Coupang, an American company, has faced particularly aggressive enforcement, including hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and proposed sanctions.
South Korea has every right to enforce its laws. American companies should follow them. But the rules should be applied fairly. That is especially important when Chinese competitors are rapidly gaining ground in the Korean market. Chinese e-commerce platforms have expanded their reach, while Chinese companies have built deep relationships throughout Korean supply chains.
Rubio acknowledged the broader problem during congressional testimony just this summer, saying South Korea’s treatment of American companies had complicated trade negotiations between our countries. That should matter to Seoul as much as it matters to Washington.
President Donald Trump and Lee reached an agreement last year explicitly committing South Korea to ensuring American companies are not discriminated against by digital services and platform regulations. Those commitments must mean something.
Trump has also shown the right approach toward China: compete from a position of strength without confusing strength with an unwillingness to negotiate.
His recent summit with Xi produced progress in several specific areas, including trade, fentanyl precursors, and continued negotiations over critical minerals. It did not resolve the fundamental competition between our countries. No single meeting could.
But it demonstrated an important principle. America can engage China while protecting American leverage and insisting on reciprocity. We should expect the same principle to guide our alliances.
We do not need South Korea to stop trading with China. Nor should we push away an ally that has stood beside us for more than 70 years. But economic security is now national security. Artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure are central to our competition with China. When American companies face unequal treatment in allied markets while Chinese competitors gain ground, Washington cannot simply dismiss it as a commercial dispute.
Congress has a critical role here. When I served on the House China Task Force, we understood that confronting China could not be confined to one committee or one area of policy. Defense and intelligence matter, but so do trade, technology, investment, and supply chains.
Congress should continue demanding reciprocity for American businesses, scrutinizing economic relationships that strengthen Beijing’s strategic position, and working with the administration to ensure our alliances remain strong economically as well as militarily.
That is why the select committee’s letter to Rubio matters. It is not an argument for turning against South Korea. It is an argument for paying attention.
WE CUT CHINA’S TRADE DEFICIT IN HALF — SO WHY IS OURS AT A RECORD $1.24 TRILLION?
China does not need to convince South Korea to abandon the United States to advance its interests. A little more dependence on Beijing, a little more friction with American companies, and a little more distance between Washington and Seoul can accomplish plenty.
I spent enough years studying America’s adversaries to know they are always looking for those openings. We should close this one.
Former congressman Chris Stewart was a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, House Committee on Appropriations and its Defense subcommittee, and the House China Task Force. He was also co-chair of the House F-35 Caucus, as well as a world-record-setting Air Force pilot and multiple New York Times bestselling author.