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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US senators introduce legislation to counter China on multiple fronts

  • The Strategic Act ranges from intellectual property theft to countering Chinese aggression in the South China Sea
  • Congress has only a few weeks left in current session to pass the bill which is latest in a series aimed at Beijing

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US Republican Senator Mitt Romney is one of the co-authors of the Strategic Act, billed as a first in terms of its scope. Photo: AFP
Robert Delaney

The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and other Republican lawmakers on Wednesday introduced comprehensive legislation aimed at countering China on multiple fronts including intellectual property theft, government subsidies, and defence capabilities in Asia.

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Billed as a first in terms of its scope, the legislation – proposed by the committee’s chairman Jim Risch and Cory Gardner, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy – aims to address most of the issues that have frayed US-China relations, but also seeks cooperation on arms control and the environment.

Senator Mitt Romney, one of the Republican Party’s most vocal critics of President Donald Trump, also co-authored the bill, called Strengthening Trade, Regional Alliances, Technology, and Economic and Geopolitical Initiatives Concerning China (Strategic) Act.

“The Chinese Communist Party is reshaping the international order to benefit authoritarian regimes and directly undermine American and democratic interests,” Risch said. “It is my intent and hope that this legislation will provide a blueprint to advance bipartisan cooperation in all aspects of the competition with China in 2020, and beyond.”

“Addressing the threat that China poses to our fundamental values of freedom, human rights, and free enterprise is the central challenge facing us in the 21st century,” Romney said. “We must take decisive action now to confront China’s growing aggression and dissuade them from their predatory efforts.”

The Strategic Act is the latest in a series of US bills that have angered China, most recently the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, signed by Trump last week, which calls for sanctions against foreign individuals and banks for contributing to the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy since Beijing passed national security legislation for the city.
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In March, Trump passed the Taipei Act, a bill expressing Washington’s support for Taiwan in strengthening its relationships with countries around the world.

On the economic front, the Strategic Act calls for a review of complaints by companies related to IP theft and an annual review of Chinese companies listed on US stock markets.

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