America Wakes Up to the China Threat

"Biden administration report referrs bluntly to a "more assertive and authoritarian China" that is "the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system." This challenge will require a multifaceted U.S. response, especially in science and technology.

"The world's leading powers are racing to develop and deploy emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing," the administration asserts, that could reshape everything "from the economic and military balance among states to the future of work, wealth, and inequality within them." The conclusion: "America must reinvest in retaining our scientific and technological edge and once again lead."

Last year Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer teamed up with a thoughtful young conservative, Sen. Todd Young (R., Ind.), to introduce the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act, which aimed to fund research, technology transfer, and education in 10 technology areas. Reps. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) and Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) introduced a companion bill in the House. This ambitious legislation would establish a new technology directorate within the National Science Foundation. The directorate would fund undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate scholarship as well as university centers and incentives for moving technology from the laboratory to the market.

Last month Mr. Schumer renewed his support for bipartisan legislation to counter Beijing. The predicate is alarm about a shortage of semiconductors, but the point would also be to invest in areas such as quantum computing, biomedical medical research, and data storage. The Endless Frontier Act would serve as the basis for this new legislation, which Mr. Schumer aims to introduce this spring.

Sen. Jack Reed (D., R.I.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has pointed to what he terms China's "aggressive attempts to undercut our current technological superiority" and expressed concern about the strength of our entire national research and innovation enterprise from research to the manufacturing and industrial base." Sen. Marco Rubio has called for a "21st century pro-American industrial policy."

Beijing's relentless advance has finally awakened the sleeping American giant. Partisanship must not stall our response." [1]

1. Politics & Ideas: America Wakes Up to the China Threat
Galston, William A. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]10 Mar 2021: A.15.