Alarm raised over China’s threat to older Americans through drug supply chains

US congressional hearing also highlights financial scams and data privacy as national security issues affecting senior citizens “Fifty years ago, we never would have given the Soviets the kind of leeway we give China: the access they have to our economy and our information, the dependence they enjoy from our supply chains,” said Rick Scott, a Republican senator from Florida, adding that the US needed to “get serious about this before it’s too late”. The hearing, titled “Counting the Cost: Communist China’s Toll on Older Americans’ Health, Finances and Security” covered several issues affecting ageing Americans, including China’s dominance in pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as global drug supply chains. “China’s weaponisation of supply chains is not theoretical. China has made controlling global supply chains an explicit strategic goal,” said Chris Slevin, from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC). All four witnesses at the Senate Special Committee on Ageing hearing were from the USCC, which does not have lawmaking authority but is authorised by Congress and can be influential on legislation.

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