Power Play

US consensus on China: The fine print

There is no doubt about strong bipartisan agreement in confronting China, but a closer look reveals nuances in how to go about it as well as a variety of complicating factors and interests. Power Play is a weekly column that looks at various facets of US-China rivalry and its implications for Asia.

This, in part, explains why America's confrontational relationship with China has endured a change in presidents. PHOTO: AFP
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When the Senate voted 68 to 32 in June to pass the United States Innovation and Competitiveness Act, a Bill aimed at boosting American innovation to compete with China, the vote margin - overwhelmingly bipartisan by Capitol Hill's standards - was read as a signal of how countering Beijing had become the rarest of unicorns in Washington.

It was an issue on which both Democrats and Republicans agreed.

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