WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2022) The US Senate advanced House-passed legislation that would increase the United States' competitiveness with respect to China on economic and national security matters.
The Senate on Monday voted 66-29 to limit debate on the America COMPETES Act. The press gallery said Senator Bernie Sanders was the only Democrat to oppose the measure.
This legislation would seek to ease supply chain bottlenecks on items like semiconductors and bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States. It would also create a $52 billion semiconductor chip fund to incentivize private-sector investments that help address supply chain disruptions and produce more semiconductors domestically.
The legislation would similarly authorize $45 billion to improve US supply chains and prevent shortages of critical goods by ensuring more are made in the country.
On national security issues, the bill would direct the Biden and subsequent administrations to submit a six-month review identifying areas of potential dialogue between the Chinese and US governments on ballistic, hypersonic glide, cruise missiles, conventional forces, nuclear, space and cyberspace issues.
In addition, the legislation would direct the US administration to develop a concrete plan to engage in arms control talks with China, and alternative plans to address arms control concerns should efforts to enter negotiations with Beijing fail.
Moreover, the legislation would invite Chinese government officials, including officials from each of the UN Security Council member states, to observe a US-Russian New START Treaty on-site inspection to demonstrate the security benefits of transparency into strategic nuclear forces.
To address China's presence in the Arctic, the bill would call on states in the region to reach an agreement to maintain peace and stability in the Arctic region and counter China's Polar Silk Road initiative, among other initiatives.
