The U.S. House of Representatives passed 25 China-related bills during the "China Week" starting from September 9th, aiming to curb China's development and growing global presence.
The proposed bills cover a range of actions, including efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese biotechnology firms, ban Chinese-made electric vehicles and drones, restrict Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland, and limit the operations of Confucius Institutes in the U.S.
Additional bills seek to interfere in affairs related to China's Taiwan Region and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, decrease the weight of the renminbi in the International Monetary Fund, tighten export controls, and revive a Trump-era surveillance program called the China Initiative.
While most "China Week" bills are led by Republicans, there is an unusual level of bipartisan consensus in addressing the perceived "China threat." With the U.S. election just two months away, these bills are being prioritized and require a two-thirds majority to pass.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. has condemned these legislative efforts as "neo-McCarthyism." Embassy Spokesperson Liu Pengyu warned that such moves "will seriously interfere with China-U.S. relations and mutually beneficial cooperation, and will inevitably damage the United States' own interests, image, and credibility."
For any of these House bills to become law, they must pass in the Senate and be signed by the U.S. President. As of August 6, 846 China-related bills had been introduced by the 118th U.S. Congress, with 94 passing in one chamber and 14 passing both. Ultimately, only 13 bills have been signed into law by President Biden, representing a pass rate of just 15 percent.
Lv Xiang, a U.S. expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argued that it remains unclear how many of these "China Week" bills will be passed. "These bills are more about political maneuvering than actual policy change," Lv said.
Co-presented by GDToday and the School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University
Reporter | Lydia Liu, Zhang Mengjiao (intern)
Cover photo | CFP
Editor | Steven Yuen, Monica Liu, James
