Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a prominent China hawk, has put forward legislation designed to counter Beijing’s large-scale industrial upgrade programme, known as “Made in China 2025,” which lawmakers claim threatens US industry and security, according to the South China Morning Post.
The report, titled “Made in China 2025 and the Future of American Industry,” analyses 10 technological fields in which China is striving to achieve global leadership and therefore reduce its dependence on imported innovation. The priority industries include aerospace, new-energy vehicles, robotics and semiconductors.
“US policy should respond to the practical and political economy challenges,” said Rubio in a tweet. “This includes enacting strategic US-China capital flow restrictions and corresponding defensive measures for domestic industries targeted by the plan.”
“Changes of the 21st century economy have upended millions of working lives of Americans,” he continued. “Americans understand that something has gone wrong and failure for Washington to respond is one of the underlying currents in our nation’s disunity.”