China strongly opposes U.S. bill to counter China's tech development

Tourists are seen near the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, May 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

China's top legislature on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the passing of the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (USICA) by the U.S. Senate and called on the U.S. to stop advancing the bill.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, in a statement, accused the bill of interfering in China's internal affairs and attempting to contain China's development in the name of "innovation and competition."

According to the statement, the bill plots to boast the so-called "China Threat Theory" in order to maintain U.S. hegemony.

Under the circumstance of turbulence and changes, the move of taking China as the enemy is against the trend of time and doomed to fail, the statement pointed out.

Taiwan questions are China's core interest and are related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressed the statement, noting that the bill severely violates the one-China policy and the three China-U.S. joint communiques.

China resolutely opposes official exchanges between Taiwan region and the U.S. in any form, the statement reiterated, warning that issues related to China's Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong are purely China's internal affairs and allow no foreign interference.

China is committed to peaceful development, the statement said, adding that the country is also committed to a bilateral relationship featuring non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

China strongly urges the U.S. side to treat China's development and the bilateral ties in an objective and rational way, stop pushing forward the bill and stop interfering in China's internal affairs so as to prevent further damage to the bilateral ties and bilateral cooperation on important areas, the statement said.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry also echoed the statement at a regular press conference on Wednesday, urging the U.S. to stop promoting the bill.

The ministry urges the U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and give up seeing China as an imaginary enemy, said spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

How to develop and improve its competitiveness should be the U.S.' own business, and China firmly opposes that the United States makes trouble out of China and sees China as an imaginary enemy, said Wang.

"The biggest crisis of the U.S. is the U.S. itself. To get its own business done well is more important than anything else."

Wang reiterated China's commitment to peaceful development, and said China's goal of development is to improve itself and make the Chinese people live a happier and better life, and warned that no one can deprive the Chinese people of their legitimate right to development.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 68-32 to pass the sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology.

The bill has a number of China-related provisions including prohibiting the social media app TikTok from being downloaded on government devices, and would block the purchase of drones manufactured and sold by companies backed by the Chinese government.

The bipartisan measure authorizes about $190 billion for provisions to strengthen U.S. technology and research – and would separately approve spending about $50 billion to increase U.S. production and research into semiconductors and telecommunications equipment.

"This legislation will enable the United States to out-innovate, out-produce and out-compete the world in the industries of the future," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The bill must also pass the House of Representatives to be sent to the White House for U.S. President Joe Biden to sign into law.

Biden later said in a White House statement that he applauded the move and looked forward to signing it into law as soon as possible.

"We are in a competition to win the 21st century, and the starting gun has gone off. 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," read the statement.