“I truly believe that 50 years from now,” he said, “historians are going to look back at this moment and say, ‘That’s the moment America began to win the competition of the 21st century.’”
Brian Deese, the director of Mr. Biden’s National Economic Council, said in an interview that the law would increase competitiveness and productivity through a variety of spending programs.
“This bill is going to be a game-changer in getting Americans to work,” Mr. Deese said.
He added that it would allow people to gain access to economic opportunities through better public transportation, roads and bridges, and provide high-speed internet, which he called “the lifeblood of the 21st-century economy.”
China’s large investments in its own infrastructure, and its threat to U.S. dominance in new and longstanding global industries, loomed large over the congressional negotiations that produced the law. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are more aware of Chinese spending than ever thanks to President Donald J. Trump and Mr. Biden, who both placed competition with China at their core of their presidential campaigns last January.
Understanding U.S.-China Relationships
A tense era in U.S.-China ties. They are deeply at odds as both countries jockey for influence over their own borders, compete in technology, and maneuver for military advantage. Here’s what to know about the main fronts in U.S.-China relations:
Government investment in infrastructure and advanced industries has been key to China’s economic transformation to a country of skyscrapers and bullet trains from one of subsistence farming, bicycles and dirt roads only 40 years ago. Partly because of hefty government subsidies, the country manufactures more than half of the world’s steel and cement, most solar panels and a growing share of electric vehicles.
China spends over 5 percent of its gross internal product on infrastructure. This is more than any other developed countries, and more than in the United States. The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution predicts that federal infrastructure spending will grow to about 1.2 per cent of gross domestic products in the future.
U.S. officials also accused China of seeking more nefarious ways to gain advantage. Mr. Biden raised concerns about China’s “unfair trade and economic policies” in his virtual meeting with Mr. Xi on Monday, according to a White House readout of the call. As a retaliation for what his officials called intellectual property violations and other unfair trade behavior, Mr. Biden chose to keep the tariffs Mr. Trump imposed upon China.
Source: NY Times
