US President Joe Biden answers questions from the media after signing a "Made in America" Executive Order in the South Court Auditorium at the White House on January 25, 2021 in Washington. Photo: AFP

As the US House of Representatives pushed forward the America COMPETES Act of 2022, a tweet by US President Joe Biden agitated the waters, but maybe not in the way he would have liked.

In the tweet, the US President seemed to have taken some caution to make sure China was not missed out. He wanted to emphasize that the act will help the US improve its supply chains, reinvigorate US manufacturing and enable the US to better compete with China. 

It is not certain if the US President wanted to specifically mention China in a tweet about a US domestic act to increase the chances of it being passed. However, a quick look at the comments under his posts seemingly suggested that the American people are not buying the rhetoric of outcompeting China. They seemed to be more interested in fixing some of the domestic problems in the US first.

The only mention of China was a tweet that reads: "If this bill doesn't pay off my student loans and reinvigorate my beer fridge, I'm moving to China." This seems to be referring to the exorbitant tuition fees, student loans crisis and the logistic bottlenecks in the US.

Another comment asks Biden to mandate vaccination for COVID-19. With 871,000 lives lost, the control of the pandemic in the US is clearly far from satisfactory.

Another user posted a US soldier firing a missile. It says: "The missile costs $80,000 and is fired by someone who does not earn that much in a year to someone who does not earn that much in a lifetime." This alludes to the entrenched interests of the US military-industrial complex. 

Other issues discussed include Biden's energy policy, like the Keystone pipeline, and the fact that the return to the country of some manufacturers does not translate into returning jobs, as these jobs have left for good.

There are comments with a more tense tone. One reads: "STEP DOWN OR I LEAVE THE US AND MOVE TO FLORIDA!!!" This statement showed a deep divide in the US.

All told. It seems that the American people are not paying too much attention to competing with China. They are keener on minding their own business at home and fixing their urgent needs while waiting for Biden to deliver on his promises. 

A senior Chinese diplomat once articulated China's position. The goal of China has never been to surpass the US but to constantly surpass itself and become a better version of itself.

Interestingly, that stance echoes with what many Americans are saying under Biden's tweet.

It is clear that the US political elite, sitting in Capitol Hill, do not care to look at those comments posted on twitter. They probably should.