[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 China

  Mr. President, later today, I will join my colleagues and committee 
chairs at a press conference to talk about the next steps in the 
Senate's effort to outcompete the Chinese Government and preserve 
America's global leadership in the 21st century.
  The Democratic-led Senate has done some important bipartisan work to 
outcompete the Chinese Communist Party in the last few years. The 
infrastructure, CHIPS and Science, and the omnibus bill all did some in 
that regard. But we all know we can't stop there. We have to build on 
this progress. This work is critical to our national security. It won't 
be enough to outcompete the Xi regime in any single area. We must be 
ready to compete with all of them on all these fronts, and that will 
require comprehensive and bipartisan legislation.
  We must not aid and abet the Chinese Government's development of 
advanced technologies--like microchips, 5G, AI, quantum computing, and 
more--that will shape the course of this century. We must limit 
investment capital from flowing to the Xi regime--the Chinese 
Government--and prevent them from taking advantage of America's 
critical assets. We must continue in investing in our workforce and 
other key technology areas that drive American innovation. We must 
strengthen our economic and military alliances and partnerships around 
the world to constrain Chinese potential aggression.
  The Chinese Government is not constraining itself in its pursuit to 
dominate the 21st century, and if we in America were to rest on our 
laurels, if we let the CCP beat us, it would have certain consequences 
for the world's democratic nations.
  The United States cannot afford to cede its leadership to governments 
opposed to democracy and individual liberty. We cannot let 
authoritarianism call the shots in the 21st century. So that is why 
this bipartisan effort in the Senate will be so important.
  The Senate has already shown that both sides are capable of working 
together on this most important issue, and I thank my colleagues who 
will join me at our press conference later this afternoon.