The United States has been asleep for decades as China undercut US economic strength by stealing ideas, technologies and, more recently, artificial intelligence advances, with the Chinese military first in line to benefit, according to testimony heard by a congressional committee on Thursday.

The hearing by the House Select Committee on China, which focused on economic espionage and Chinese efforts to exert influence at state and local levels, was held amid mounting bilateral tension over export controls and tech rivalry – despite last month’s summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump meant to stabilise relations.

“China has orchestrated a highly strategic, highly accelerated and multifaceted effort to steal commercial and technological secrets from the United States and other Western nations,” said David Shedd, former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

“The campaign, which blends cyber espionage, human intelligence, academic collaboration, and commercial investments, has been instrumental in propelling China’s rapid economic and military rise.”

Some witnesses and lawmakers pushed back, however, arguing that although Beijing’s aggressive campaigns to acquire foreign secrets must be checked, any broad-brush approach targeting students, property owners and researchers of Chinese descent as well as private Chinese companies ultimately undermines US security.

“We should use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,” said John Yang, president and executive director of civic group Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “Asian-Americans no longer feel safe because of their race or ethnicity.”