Race to rule the world
The US Senate passed a sweeping industrial policy bill on Tuesday aimed at countering a surging economic threat from rival China, overcoming partisan divisions to support pumping more than $170bn into research and development.
With both US political parties increasingly worried about competition from Asia’s largest power, the measure cleared the chamber on a 68-32 vote, one of the most significant bipartisan achievements in Congress since Joe Biden’s presidency began in January.
It also represents the largest investment in scientific research and technological innovation “in generations,” according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which earlier passed a different version. The two will have to be reconciled into a single bill before it is sent to the White House for the president’s signature.
Mr Biden (pictured) said he was “encouraged” by the Senate’s passage of the United States Innovation and Competition Act.
“We are in a competition to win the 21st century, and the starting gun has gone off,” Mr Biden said. “As other countries continue to invest in their own research and development, we cannot risk falling behind. America must maintain its position as the most innovative and productive nation on Earth.”
The package is seen as crucial for US efforts to avoid being outmanoeuvred by Beijing in the race to technological innovation.
Mr Schumer called the measure “one of the most important things this chamber has done in a very long time, a statement of faith in America’s ability to seize the opportunities of the 21st century”.
The proposal aims to address a number of technological areas in which the US has fallen behind its Chinese competitors, including in semiconductor production.
The bill allocates $52bn in funding for a previously approved plan to increase domestic manufacturing of the components. It also authorises $120bn over five years for activities at the National Science Foundation to advance priorities including research and development in key areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum science.
And it facilitates tie-ups between private firms and research universities. “This is an opportunity for the United States to strike a blow on behalf of answering the unfair competition that we are seeing from communist China,” said Republican Senator Roger Wicker, one of the main cosponsors.
Whichever countries best harness technologies such as AI, robotics and quantum computing will be able to shape innovation to its image, added Mr Schumer, before criticising Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Do we want that image to be a democratic image, small D? Or do we want it to be an authoritarian image, like President Xi would like to impose on the world?” Mr Schumer asked.