The Senate Foreign Relations Committee prepares to vote on a 280-page bipartisan bill that aims to counter the global influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Why it matters: The bill marks the culmination of years of growing concern about the rise of an increasingly authoritarian China. It would allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to a range of new initiatives to help the US succeed in long-term ideological, military, economic and technological competition.
What is going on: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (DN.J.) and Senior Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) announced the “2021 Strategic Competition Act” on April 8.
- The committee will vote on the bill on April 21. If passed, it will go to the Senate Chamber for further debate.
Details: The bill includes $ 655 million in funding for foreign armies in the Indo-Pacific region and $ 450 million for the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative, which aims to ensure that the U.S. and its partners can operate freely in the region and address threats that arise.
Other new programs and allocations include:
- $ 75 million for an Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network in the Indo-Pacific to counterbalance China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
- $ 100 million for a “Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership” that would promote secure telecommunications and digital infrastructure in emerging markets and boost US exports.
- $ 15 million to help US companies exit the Chinese market, diversify their supply chains, and identify alternative markets.
- $ 300 million for the Countering Chinese Influence Fund to push back against the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to promote its authoritarian model abroad.
What they say: Menendez called the bill an “unprecedented two-pronged effort to mobilize all of the US’s strategic, economic and diplomatic instruments for an Indo-Pacific strategy that will enable our country to truly face the challenges China poses for our national and economic security. “
- Lisa Curtis, director of the Center for a New American Security’s Indo-Pacific Security Program and a former director of the National Security Council for South and Central Asia, said the bill “ shows the U.S. is preparing for a comprehensive approach of the government to the challenge of China. “
- If the bill passes, it would send a strong signal to the US allies and partners that the US is united in their approach to Beijing, Curtis added.
- Curtis also noted that the draft bill also calls for a thorough investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. “The bill mentions that 13 countries have expressed concerns about the WHO mission’s lack of access to China to data, facilities and personnel. It is critical that the Senate has identified this as a problem,” she said.
Context: The Biden government has made countering rising global authoritarianism in China a major concern.
- In Washington, there is a high degree of duality surrounding the idea that China, under its current leadership, poses a serious threat to US values and interests.
Yes but: Americans in general are more divided along party lines in their views on China, with 54% of Republicans viewing China as an “enemy” compared to 20% of Democrats, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.
Go deeper: Read the draft bill