‘Economic Nato’ alliance, other ideas to counter China are proposed by US lawmakers
- Two Republicans recommend that US blacklists of Chinese companies, now maintained separately by the Treasury and Commerce departments, be consolidated
- A Democratic senator touts new framework to respond to ‘violations of sovereignty, economic coercion and retaliation by adversaries’
US lawmakers offered several new proposals to counter China on Tuesday, including an “economic Nato” and closer inter-agency coordination of differing blacklists to further restrict US investment in Chinese companies.
The ideas floated during hearings held by the House foreign affairs and Senate banking committees offer a glimpse of what is on the horizon for a new Congress that already has dozens of hard-line China-related bills under consideration.
“I have an increasing view that the United States has to lead the creation of an economic alliance among like-minded countries that can provide a framework for cooperative action in response to military aggression, violations of sovereignty, economic coercion and retaliation by adversaries,” Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, told the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
The hearing was focused on “advancing national security and foreign policy through sanctions, export controls and other economic tools”.
02:34
Chinese balloon row: Joe Biden says US-China relations have not taken a big hit
Menendez, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called a potential alliance “economic Nato”.
