US Senate advances bill to fund tech development to counter China
- Endless Frontier Act would fund development of technologies such as AI and semiconductors in a bid to stay ahead of China in tech
- It is one of several bills aimed at countering China that lawmakers could combine into one larger bill covering US grievances with Beijing
The chamber voted 84-11 to move ahead with the Endless Frontier Act, introduced by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, which seeks up to US$100 billion over five years for basic and advanced tech research and another US$10 billion to create new technology hubs across the country. The move clears the way for the Senate to vote on the bill’s passage.
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“Members on both sides of the aisle know that decades of federal underinvestment in science and technology have imperilled America’s global economic leadership,” Schumer said ahead of the vote to begin consideration of the bill.
“Holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its years of rapacious economic policies and theft of American ingenuity will help create a level playing field that American workers have lacked for decades.”
China spent a record US$2.2 trillion yuan (US$340 billion) on R&D in 2019, representing 2.2 per cent of the country’s GDP – a record high, according to the OECD. This amounted to 80 per cent of the US’ R&D spending, which accounted for 2.6 per cent of its GDP that year.
China’s goal is to boost spending to 3.76 trillion yuan by 2025, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s planning agency.
The Endless Frontier Act could change as lawmakers try to introduce revisions or amendments as they try to get it passed before the May 31 Memorial Day holiday, but concern over China is one of very few areas where Democrats and Republicans agree.