US takes aim at China’s growing influence with US$750 billion defence bill
- Proposal seeks to stem erosion of US military advantage against Beijing and would authorise purchase of more F-35s and fund modernisation of US nuclear arsenal
- Senate panel that unveiled draft bill says US is ‘undermined by new threats from strategic competitors like China and Russia’
The US Senate Armed Services Committee unveiled a draft bill on Thursday that targets China on several fronts, from stemming the erosion of the US military advantage against Beijing to countering the growing Chinese influence around the world.
The US$750 billion proposal would also authorise the US military to buy more Lockheed Martin F-35 planes and fully fund a programme to modernise the US nuclear weapon arsenal.
The committee acknowledged that “our margin of military supremacy has eroded and is undermined by new threats from strategic competitors like China and Russia”.
The panel addressed what Congress sees as the threat from China, including stricter reporting of the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s international trade plan.
The bill would require the creation of a list of Chinese institutions and companies with any links to its military, to be used for screening visa applications for students and researchers.