Office of China Coordination

The Office of China Coordination (OCC), informally known as China House, is a unit of the U.S. State Department that coordinates information and policy on China.[1][2]

Office of China Coordination
Seal of the United States Department of State
Office overview
Formed2022 (2022)
Employees60–70[1]
Office executive
  • Rick Waters, Coordinator[1]
Parent departmentU.S. Department of State

History

The OCC replaced the China Desk of Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in December 2022.[1] The office has between 60 and 70 employees, including people detailed from other departments on topics such as international security, economics, technology, multilateral diplomacy, and strategic communication.[1][3][4] The reorganization, launched by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was described as a centerpiece of the Biden administration's diplomatic efforts in a global rivalry between the United States and China.[1][2]

Officials told Politico that the OCC would eliminate some silos among redundant government bodies and streamline policymaking.[1] Politico described it as analogous to the Central Intelligence Agency's China Mission Center, in that both entities would be hubs for directing funding, resources and personnel.[1] Before the reorganization, some former State Department officials had voiced concerns about adding another layer of bureaucracy, and a spokesperson for Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho called the OCC a "bureaucratic power grab".[5][1] Risch held up the reorganization for some months until his concerns were allayed.[1]

References
  1. Toosi, Nahal, and Phelim Kine (December 16, 2022). "Biden launches 'China House' to counter Beijing's growing clout." Politico. Archived from the original.
  2. Gans, Jared (December 17, 2022). "State Department launches 'China House' to coordinate policy on Beijing." The Hill. Archived from the original.
  3. Staff writer (December 16, 2022). "US State Department Launches Office of China Coordination." Voice of America. Archived from the original.
  4. Office of the Spokesperson (December 16, 2022). "Secretary Blinken Launches the Office of China Coordination" (press release). U.S. State Department. Archived from the original.
  5. Kine, Phelim. "CIA and State's new China centers risk bureaucratic boondoggle". POLITICO. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
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