U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) recently responded to a report alleging the Chinese Communist Party is expressing opposition to his bill he said seeks to invest in technologies aiding in outcompeting China.
Young’s rebuttal stemmed from a Reuters report alleging that the Chinese Embassy is encouraging domestic business leaders to oppose the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), also known as the Endless Frontier Act.
Per the report, the Embassy is telling businesses they will lose market share in China if the bill becomes law.
“(General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party) Xi Jinping does not want this bill to become law,” Young said. “He is scared – rightfully so – that the U.S. will once again surge ahead when USICA becomes law. The Chinese Communist Party knows that when we invest in American ingenuity, there is no nation in the world that can out-innovate the United States.”
The bill calls for investing $29 billion over the next five years in technologies that include artificial intelligence and quantum computing, among others, via the National Science Foundation. Additionally, officials noted the funding allotment would bolster the CHIPS Act to address semiconductor shortages.
The Reuters report alleges the Chinese Embassy forwarded correspondence to businesses as a means of encouraging efforts to lobby against the legislation on China’s behalf.
“Absent from these letters are any reasons why USICA will be bad for America – only bad for the Chinese Community Party,” Young said. “Passage of this bipartisan legislation will create high-paying jobs for Americans, supercharge our nation’s military and technological capabilities, and ensure the Chinese Communist Party’s illiberal sphere of influence does not continue to grow unchecked.”