US Senate advances sweeping technology bill taking aim at China

Washington: The US Senate has advanced a sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country’s ability to compete better with Chinese technology, as Congress increasingly seeks to take a tough line against Beijing.

The senators voted 68-30 to end debate on the $250 billion US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, or USICA, and move nearer to a final vote on the legislation.

The desire for a hard line in dealings with China is one of the few truly bipartisan sentiments in the deeply divided US Congress, which is narrowly controlled by President Joe Biden’s Democrats.