Jersey City, N.J. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today announced a bipartisan agreement on a new comprehensive China legislation for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to take up in the coming days. Entitled the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, the new legislation was negotiated with Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and represents the first major proposal to bring Democrats and Republicans together in laying out a strategic approach towards Beijing – and assuring that the United States is positioned to compete with China across all dimensions of national and international power for decades to come. In unveiling the legislation, Menendez also announced he is convening a legislative business meeting on April 14th for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to take up and vote on the measure.
“I am incredibly proud to announce this unprecedented bipartisan effort to mobilize all U.S. strategic, economic, and diplomatic tools for an Indo-Pacific strategy that will allow our nation to truly confront the challenges China poses to our national and economic security. The Strategic Competition Act of 2021 is a recognition that this moment demands a unified, strategic response that can rebuild American leadership, invest in our ability to out-compete China, and reground diplomacy in our core values.
“The United States government must be clear-eyed and sober about Beijing’s intentions and actions, and calibrate our policy and strategy accordingly. I am confident that this effort has the necessary support to be overwhelmingly approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week and the full Senate shortly thereafter. That is the only way we will get the China challenge right – a bipartisan commitment to mutual trust and good-faith compromise, balancing pragmatism and idealism, and a shared dedication to finally solving one of toughest challenges our nation faces. As I’ve told my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I am committed to continue working together in common cause so this major piece of legislation is enacted swiftly and through regular order. The scope, scale and urgency of the China challenge demands nothing less.”
A copy of the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 can be found HERE. Key elements of the legislation include:
###