The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is preparing to vote on a 280-page bipartisan bill aimed at counteracting the global influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Why does it matter: The bill marks the culmination of years of growing concern about the emergence of an increasingly authoritarian China. It would allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to a series of new initiatives designed to help the United States succeed in long-term ideological, military, economic and technological competition.
What happens: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (DN.J.) and incumbent Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) announced the “2021 Strategic Competition Act.”
- The commission is scheduled to vote on the bill on April 21. If he passes, he will go to the Senate chamber for further debate.
Details: The bill includes $ 655 million to fund foreign military in the Indo-Pacific region and $ 450 million for the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative, which aims to ensure that the US and its partners can operate freely in the region and address the threats that arise.
Other new programs and allocations include:
- $ 75 million for an “Infrastructure Support and Transaction Network” in the Indo-Pacific as a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
- $ 100 million for a “Digital Connectivity and Cyber Security Partnership” that would promote secure telecommunications and digital infrastructure in developing markets and promote US exports.
- $ 15 million to help US companies exit the Chinese market, diversify their supply chains and identify alternative markets.
- $ 300 million for the “Chinese Influence Fund” to push the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to promote its authoritarian model abroad.
What I say: Menendez called the bill “an unprecedented bipartisan effort to mobilize all US strategic, economic and diplomatic instruments for an Indo-Pacific strategy that would allow our nation to truly meet the challenges China poses to our security.” national and economic development ”.
- Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program of the Center for New American Security and former director of the National Security Council for South and Central Asia, said the bill “shows that the United States is preparing for a comprehensive government approach.” of meeting the challenge of China. “
- If the bill is passed, it would be a strong signal to US allies and partners that the United States is united in its approach to Beijing, Curtis added.
- Curtis also noted that the bill also calls for an in-depth investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. “The bill notes that 13 countries have expressed concern about the lack of access that the WHO mission in China has had to data, facilities and personnel. It is essential that the Senate pointed this out as a problem,” he said. she.
Context: The Biden administration has made the fight against the rise of China’s global authoritarianism a key point.
- In Washington, there is a high degree of bipartisanship around the idea that China, under its current leadership, poses a serious threat to US values and interests.
Yes but: Americans are generally more divided about parties in terms of their views on China, with 54 percent of Republicans viewing China as an “enemy,” compared to 20 percent of Democrats, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. .
Go deeper: Read the bill