A key US House of Representatives committee this week will look into a government program that helps make Chinese firms more energy efficient, the panel's Republican chairman announced Monday.

The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on Tuesday will hold a hearing dubbed "Feeding the Dragon: Reevaluating US Development Assistance to China," according to Representative Don Manzullo.

"Why are we borrowing money from China to give back to China to encourage them to do the right thing?" asked Manzullo.

At issue is a US Agency for International Development program designed to provide some $3.95 million "to help China adopt clean energy technologies and policies, protect wildlife, and establish law school courses," his office said.

"Such a program would give Chinese manufacturers an even greater advantage against their American competitors, and Manzullo strongly believes the program should be eliminated," his office said in a statement.

USAID's assistant administrator for Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal, will testify at the hearing, according to Manzullo's office.