Our picks: China watchU.S. to Spend Big to Counter China | Europe Calls for “NATO for Trade” against Beijing | Spying for China, and more

America Plans to Spend Billions of Dollars to Counter China  (India Times)
The US plans a massive spending plan to counter China. In a rare demonstration of bipartisan agreement, the Senate passed the United States Innovation and Competition Act 2021 to spend more than $250 billion to ensure that the US stays on top in terms of technological research and production.

EU Rewrites Rulebook on Science and Technology Cooperation with the Rest of the World  (Florin Zubașcu, Science|Business)
After years of fighting against a “Europe first” approach in research funding, policy makers and lobbyists in Brussels now want to explicitly limit access for scientists in countries that flout academic freedom and intellectual property rights.
The Commission says in future it will base its rules for international scientific cooperation on the principle of “open strategic autonomy.” In particular, it is drawing up a roadmap on science and technology with China, in which it is seeking to impose stricter terms on cooperation, to ensure EU research organizations and companies can access the Chinese market safely, without needing to worry about potential IP breaches.

Another Pacific Island Rejects Undersea China Cable  (Solomon Times)
After rejecting a low bid from China due to security concerns, the Pacific island of Nauru is in discussions to connect to an Australian undersea communications network.
The United States and its Pacific allies have voiced concerns that cables laid by China would be vulnerable to breaches of the cable by the Chinese.

Japan Defense Official Outlines Threat from More Assertive China  (Brody Ford, Bloomberg)
Japan’s No. 2 defense official laid out the increasing threats he sees from a more assertive China, including longer-range missiles and more frequent airspace incursions, as the U.S. ally moves to boost defense spending to help counter Beijing.

House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Boost Scientific Competitiveness, Following Senate  (John D. McKinnon, Wall Street Journal)
The two chambers will now have to negotiate a final version of the legislation before President Biden can sign it into law.

The FBI Accused Him of Spying for China. It Ruined His Life.  (Karen Hao and Eileen Guo, MIT Technology Review)
Anming Hu’s case was meant to be a victory for the “China Initiative,” a US effort to root out spies. Instead, it turned more attention on the FBI.

A Quiet Battle Is Raging in Congress over How the U.S. Will Respond to China’s Growing Power  (Michael D. Swaine and Marcus Stanley, Business Insider)
Bipartisan calls for a response to China’s growing power are driving two major new bills in the Senate and House. Both are forceful responses, but they present critical choices as to how extreme the turn in the U.S.’s China policy will be.

Security Sweeps of Whitehall Offices Ordered after Hancock CCTV Leak  (Financial Times)
The cameras used in the health department’s building are produced by Chinese company Hikvision, recently the subject of scrutiny over links to the Chinese government and involvement in the repression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The China Research Group said Chinese state-backed surveillance technology was in various government buildings and called for a “central review of surveillance tech to assess security risks.”

British, U.S.-China Groups Call for “NATO for Trade” against Beijing  (Finbarr Bermingham and Cissy Zhou, SCMP)
In a new paper commissioned by the China Research Group and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a science and technology policy think tank, proponents say the group could retaliate as one to economic coercion from China aimed at any member.

A Confused Biden Team Risks Losing Southeast Asia  (James Crabtree, Foreign Policy)
Southeast Asia is an important front line in a new era of geopolitical competition between China and the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden took office with plenty of goodwill across the region. Its leaders hoped Biden would be less erratic than former U.S. President Donald Trump and more willing to commit time to economic and diplomatic engagement. Yet six months into Biden’s tenure, and that goodwill is ebbing away. In its place, a sense of disappointment is taking hold amid talk about a lack of U.S. focus and confused objectives. If Biden cannot soon find that focus again, Washington risks damage to its credibility in the region—and further creeping Chinese influence.