On April 8, 2021, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) introduced the Strategic Competition Act of 2021. The bipartisan proposal will be raised for consideration by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a legislative business meeting on April 14. In addition to addressing forced labor, forced sterilization, and other abuses in Xinjiang, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee provided the following outline summarizing key components of the legislation.
The Act:
- “Bolsters the United States diplomatic strategy in addressing challenges posed by the Chinese government and reaffirms America’s commitment to its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world, and calls for the United States to reassert its leadership within international organizations and other multilateral fora. Renews America’s commitment to allies and partners by prioritizing security assistance for the Indo-Pacific region, and strengthens U.S. diplomatic efforts to address challenges posed by China in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Arctic, and Oceania.”
- “Focuses on countering and confronting China’s predatory international economic behavior, and includes measures to track intellectual property violators, Chinese government subsidies, monitor Chinese use of Hong Kong to circumvent U.S. export controls, and track the presence of Chinese companies in U.S. capital markets. Directs the United States to provide technical assistance to countries working to counter foreign corrupt practices, and debt relief to the poorest countries who have requested forbearance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
- “Strengthens American competitiveness with investments in science and technology, global infrastructure development, digital connectivity and cybersecurity partnerships, and reinforces U.S. efforts to counter Chinese Communist Party influence and malign operations.”
- “Calls for enhanced coordination and cooperation with allies on arms control in the face of China’s military modernization and expansion, and requires reporting on Chinese ballistic, hypersonic glide, and cruise missiles, conventional forces, nuclear, space, cyberspace and other strategic domains.”
The full text is available here.
For more information on actions addressing human rights and forced labor abuses, please see our other posts below or contact John Brew, Jeffrey Snyder, Frances Hadfield, or Clayton Kaier.
Forced Labor/U.K. Modern Slavery Act Archives | International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)
Xinjiang Archives | International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)