The US Senate voted 68-32 to approve a sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology.
An indignant China responded to the vote by saying it objected to being cast as an “imaginary” US enemy.
The desire for a hard line in dealings with China is one of the few bipartisan sentiments in the deeply divided US Congress, which is narrowly controlled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats.
The measure authorises about $190 billion for provisions to strengthen US technology and research — and would separately approve spending $54 billion to increase US production and research into semiconductors and telecommunications equipment, including $2 billion dedicated to chips used by automakers that have seen massive shortages and made significant production cuts.
China’s parliament expressed “strong indignation and resolute opposition” to the bill. It said in a statement that the US Bill showed “paranoid delusion of wanting to be the only winner” and had distorted the original spirit of innovation and competition.
“We firmly object to the United States seeing China as an imaginary enemy,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing.
The Bill must pass the House of Representatives to be sent to the White House for Biden to sign into law. It is not clear what legislation in the House will look like or when it might take it up.
China-related provisions
The Bill has a number of other China-related provisions, including prohibiting the social media app TikTok from being downloaded on government devices, and would block the purchase of drones manufactured and sold by companies backed by the Chinese government. It would also allow diplomats and Taiwanese military to display their flag and wear their uniforms while in the United States on official businesses.
It would also create broad new mandatory sanctions on Chinese entities engaged in US cyberattacks or theft of US intellectual property from American firms, and provides for a review of export controls on items that could be used to support human rights abuses.
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