China US Photo: GT

 
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, on Wednesday blasted the US Senate’s passing of an innovation and competition bill, saying the legislation is full of cold war mentality and ideological bias, interferes China’s internal affairs and is attempted to contain China’s development. 

In a statement, the NPC expressed its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the so-called US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, which fabricates so-called “China treat” to preserve the US global hegemony and seeks to deprive China of its legitimate development rights through technological and economic “decoupling”. 

The harshly worded statement also come as the NPC’s standing committee is also moving ahead with an anti-foreign sanctions draft law this week, which is aiming to counter unilateral and discriminatory sanctions imposed by foreign governments on Chinese entities and individuals.

“At a time when the world enters a period of turbulence and change, the practice of treating China as an ‘imaginary enemy’ at every turn is against the general trend of the world, unpopular and doomed to fail,” reads the statement. 

After much hype, the US Senate on Tuesday passed the Innovation and Competition Act, which is seeking to bolster the US’ technological innovation capabilities and competitive edge against China through massive government subsidies. 

However, the bill has been largely advertised by US lawmakers and media reports as a countermeasure against China, with some even calling the “China competitiveness bill.”

Apart from massive investment plans in the US technology sector, the legislation also directs the US Secretary of State to target China’s state-owned enterprises over so-called intellectual property “theft” and forced technology transfers, according to CNN. The US government is also directed to impose sanctions against Chinese entities and individuals for stealing US trade secrets and work with its allies to stop exports of goods made with intellectual property.

Also, the legislation include a ban on US officials from attending the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over so-called human rights concerns and the fabricated “genocide” accusation against Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

“The bill is full of Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, slanders China’s development path and domestic and foreign policies. Under the banner of ‘innovation and competition,’ it interferes in China’s internal affairs and seeks to contain China’s development,” the NPC’s Foreign Affairs Committee said in the statement.

At the ongoing 29th session scheduled to conclude on Thursday, the NPC Standing Committee is reviewing the anti-foreign sanctions law, which would provide legal support for the government to counter foreign sanctions. 

Global Times