Sec. 103. Sense of Congress
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It is the sense of Congress that the execution of the policy described in section 102(b) requires the following actions: Managed strategic competition with the PRC will require the United States— to marshal sustained political will to protect its vital interests and advance its economic and national security objectives for decades to come; and to achieve this sustained political will, persuade the American people and United States allies and partners of— the challenges posed by the PRC; and the need for long-term competition to defend shared interests and values.
The United States must— coordinate closely with allies and partners to compete effectively with the PRC; cooperate with the PRC where our interests align; and pursue its interests, while still accounting for partner country viewpoints on how to best approach the challenges posed by the PRC. At the same time, other countries must step up to assume greater roles in balancing and checking the aggressive and assertive behavior of the PRC than the roles they have assumed in the past.
The President of the United States must lead and direct the entire executive branch to make the People’s Republic of China the top priority in United States foreign policy. At present, the United States identifies it as such in the National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy, but must further increase the prioritization of managed strategic competition with the PRC and broader United States interests in the Indo-Pacific region in the conduct of foreign policy to implement the strategic imperatives outlined in those documents.
The President should appoint a senior official in the Executive Office of the President with the authority and resources to coordinate the United States strategy of managed strategic competition with the PRC across the entire United States Government. The head of every Federal department and agency should designate a senior official at the level of Under Secretary or above to coordinate the department’s or agency’s policies with respect to managed strategic competition with the PRC.
The ability of the United States to execute a strategy of managed strategic competition with the PRC will be undermined if our attention is repeatedly diverted to challenges that are not vital to United States economic and national security interests. In the coming decades, the United States must prevent the PRC from— establishing regional hegemony in the Indo-Pacific; and using that position to advance its assertive political, economic, and foreign policy goals around the world.
The United States must ensure that the Federal budget is properly aligned with the strategic imperative to compete with the PRC by— authorizing sufficient levels of funding to resource all instruments of United States national power; and coherently prioritizing how such funds are used. Sustained prioritization of the challenge posed by the PRC requires— bipartisan cooperation within Congress; and frequent, sustained, and meaningful collaboration and consultation between the executive and legislative branches.
The United States must ensure close integration among economic and foreign policymakers, the private sector, civil society, universities and academic institutions, and other relevant actors in free and open societies affected by the challenges posed by the PRC to enable such actors— to collaborate to advance common interests; and to identify appropriate policies— to strengthen the United States and its allies; to promote a compelling vision of a free and open order; and to push back against detrimental policies pursued by the CCP.
The United States must ensure that all Federal departments and agencies are organized to reflect the fact that competing with the PRC is the United States top foreign policy priority, including through the assigned missions and location of United States Government personnel, by— dedicating more personnel in the Indo-Pacific region, at posts around the world, and in Washington DC, with priorities directly relevant to advancing competition with the People’s Republic of China; placing greater numbers of foreign service officers, international development professionals, members of the foreign commercial service, intelligence professionals, and other United States Government personnel in the Indo-Pacific region; and ensuring that this workforce, both civilian and military, has the training in language, technical skills, and other competencies required to advance a successful competitive strategy with the PRC.
The United States must place renewed emphasis on strengthening the nonmilitary instruments of national power, including diplomacy, information, technology, economics, foreign assistance and development finance, commerce, intelligence, and law enforcement, which are crucial for addressing the unique economic, political, and ideological challenges posed by the PRC. The United States should create a Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which shall be aligned with the overarching political and diplomatic objectives articulated in the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act ( Public Law 115–409 ), and that prioritizes the military investments necessary to achieve United States political objectives in the Indo-Pacific, including— promoting regional security in the Indo-Pacific; reassuring allies and partners while protecting them from coercion; and deterring conflict with the PRC.
Competition with the PRC requires the United States skillful adaptation to the information environment of the 21st century. United States public diplomacy and messaging efforts must effectively— promote the value of partnership with the United States; highlight the risks and costs of enmeshment with the PRC; and counter CCP propaganda and disinformation.
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Sec. 103
Sense of Congress
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