Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

As Introduced
135th General Assembly
    Regular Session                                         H. R. No. 310
       2023-2024
                         Representatives Seitz, Forhan
Cosponsors: Representatives Bird, Carruthers, Schmidt, Fowler Arthur, White,
  Hillyer, Mathews, Robb Blasdel, McClain, Oelslager, Loychik, Kick, Dobos,
Cross, Johnson, Holmes, Brennan, Click, King, Gross, Miller, K., Patton, Dean,
John, Barhorst, Demetriou, Young, T., Williams, Hall, Lipps, Pizzulli, Jones, Ray,
                    Plummer, Miller, M., Lampton, Peterson
                          A RESOLUTION
             To condemn President Xi Jinping and the Chinese                         1
                 Communist Party for their support for Russia in                     2
                 the Russia-Ukraine War, particularly with regard                    3
                 to the supplying of combat drones.                                  4
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF
OHIO:
     WHEREAS, Just weeks before President Vladimir Putin invaded                     5
Ukraine, he and President Xi Jinping signed a "no limits"                            6
partnership agreement between their two countries; and                               7
     WHEREAS, China has sought to expand and sustain trade with                      8
Russia in order to soften the blow of worldwide economic                             9
sanctions against Russia, increasing trade between the two                           10
countries to a record high of 190 billion dollars in 2022; and                       11
     WHEREAS, Russia exported twice as much liquid petroleum gas                     12
to China in 2022 than it did the year before, thereby making up                      13
for the dearth of sales to other countries; and                                      14
H. R. No. 310                                                       Page 2
As Introduced
      WHEREAS, China refuses to abide by the price cap                       15
established by the Group of Seven countries, instead paying full             16
market price for Russian crude oil; and                                      17
      WHEREAS, According to a declassified report from the Office            18
of the Director of National Intelligence, "Beijing has also                  19
significantly increased the use of its currency, the yuan, and               20
its financial infrastructure in commercial interactions with                 21
Russia, allowing Russian entities to conduct financial                       22
transactions unfettered of Western interdiction"; and                        23
      WHEREAS, According to U.S. intelligence, China has already             24
provided "non-lethal support" to Russia; and                                 25
      WHEREAS, China secretly may be selling high technology                 26
products to Russia, which could be used for military purposes;               27
and                                                                          28
      WHEREAS, The report from the Office of the Director of                 29
National Intelligence states, "Many shell companies and small                30
and medium-sized enterprises - comprising of no more than 300                31
employees - in Hong Kong serve as receptacles for secondary                  32
sales of chips to Russia [China], according to Chinese and                   33
Western press reports"; and                                                  34
      WHEREAS, Some Chinese companies are selling civilian drones            35
to Russia, exploiting the gray area between civilian and                     36
military purposes for the use of drone technology; and                       37
      WHEREAS, As of March 2023, China had shipped more than 12              38
million dollars' worth of drones and drone parts to Russia,                  39
though it is difficult to ascertain whether those drones                     40
contained U.S. components; and                                               41
      WHEREAS, In April 2023, President Putin met with China's               42
Defense Minister Li Shangfu to discuss military cooperation                  43
between Russia and China, which they described as a "boundless"              44
partnership; and                                                             45
H. R. No. 310                                                      Page 3
As Introduced
      WHEREAS, Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said              46
during a meeting on October 16, 2023, of the Russian State Duma             47
Committee on Budget and Taxes that, "Today, almost all drones               48
are from China. We are also grateful to our partners for this.";            49
now therefore be it                                                         50
      RESOLVED, That we, the members of the House of                        51
Representatives of the 135th General Assembly of the State of               52
Ohio, condemn China's partnership with Russia in the Russia-                53
Ukraine War; and be it further                                              54
      RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives              55
transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the                56
President of the United States, the United States Secretary of              57
State, the members of the United States Senate Committee on                 58
Armed Services, the members of the United States House of                   59
Representatives Armed Services Committee, the President of the              60
People's Republic of China, the People's Republic of China's                61
Ambassador to the United States, and the news media of Ohio.                62