Rep. Comer accuses China of ‘spy ring’ in US

​Rep. James Comer warned that the US has “bigger” problems with China than spy ballons — accusing the communist country of operating a “massive spy ring” in American institutions and stealing intellectual property.

Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the concerns with China are a “whole lot bigger” than the spy balloons.on Sunday called on the Biden administration to take a tougher approach to the world’s most populated country.

“China continues to steal our intellectual property. They continue to steal our patents. They manipulate their currency. We believe they have a big footprint in academia with a massive spy ring within our research universities where they continue to steal our hard-earned research and development,” Comer (R-Ky.) said on ABC News’ “This Week.”

Comer, said the concerns with China are a “whole lot bigger” than the spy balloons.

“Their military continues to grow and expand. They’re continuing their Belt and Road Initiative all over the world where they’re trying to create a dominant world economy,” he said.

“This is a problem for the United States. And we need an administration to stand firm to China,” he continued.​

US fighter jets downed a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.

Navy crews are now salvaging debris from the aircraft to determine its capabilities. 

But since then, the US downed three more unknown objects – one Friday off Alaska, one Saturday over the Yukon Territory in Canada, and one Sunday over Lake Huron. 

The shoot down of the object Sunday took place after Comer’s ABC interview. ​

After President Biden received bipartisan criticism for waiting too long to down the Chinese spy balloon, Comer said the administration has stepped up its game, but it’s still not enough. ​​

“This administration thus far hasn’t set a very good example of standing up to China. I think that shooting the balloon down in the Atlantic once it flew over all the military bases, including my own Fort Campbell, Ky., it’s very disturbing. I’m glad this administration’s taking it more seriously with respect to the balloons,” he said. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in an appearance on “This Week” moments before Comer’s, said the US and China – the world’s top two economic powers – must repair their relationship. 

“I have always been a China hawk, but China is the second biggest power in the world, economically and geopolitically. We can’t just have a cold war with them. We have to have a relationship with them. But China has taken advantage of us over and over and over again. And this administration has been just about tougher than any other,” Schumer of New York said.

He pointed out Congress’ passing the CHIPS and Science Act that will boost the development of semiconductors in the US to counter China’s dominance of the market.

He said the materials produced in American factories will not be shared with China. 

“That’s a real blow,” Schumer said. 

The Senate leader also said Congress should look into banning the wildly popular app TikTok, which is made by Chinese technology company ByteDance. 

Comer said he “absolutely” agrees that TikTok should come under scrutiny.

“TikTok executives testified in Congress a year or two ago that none of the data that TikTok collected ever left the United States. But what we’ve learned from whistle-blowers and media accounts is some of that data did, in fact, go back to China and that’s a concern,” Comer said.

“It’s a concern for high-level people in the government because with that data, ByteDance can tell where you are if you are using TikTok. They know what your location is. So that would be a concern if we continue to see escalation among China and the United States,” he said. 

“We certainly don’t want the Chinese bad guys to know where our public officials are,” Comer said.