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April 30, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSENATE RESOLUTION 716—EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING
CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARDS THE PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Ricketts, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Moreno, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Kim, Mr. McCormick, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Banks, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Young, Mr. Wicker, and Ms. Slotkin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 716
Whereas the People's Republic of China is the foremost
rival and strategic competitor of the United States that has
the intent and capacity to undermine the security, economic
prosperity, and strategic interests of the United States and
the allies and partners of the United States;
Whereas the People's Republic of China has rapidly
modernized and expanded its military in a manner that—
(1) poses direct threats to the security and economic
prosperity of the United States, including by expanding its
arsenal of nuclear, maritime, conventional long-range strike,
cyber, space, and intelligence capabilities;
(2) aims to project power and deter the United States
presence in the Indo-Pacific region;
(3) facilitates intensified coercive military and illegal,
coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities (also known as
“gray zone activities”) that—
(A) threaten the security and sovereignty of countries
in the Indo-Pacific region; and
(B) compromise freedom of navigation in vital lanes of
commerce, such as the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait;
(4) aims to give the People's Republic of China the
capability to carry out its threat to alter the status quo in
the Taiwan Strait by coercion or force, including by delaying
or denying third-party involvement in a Taiwan Strait
contingency; and
(5) supports United States adversaries, such as the Islamic
Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
and the Russian Federation, including through the sharing of
military technology and materiel;
Whereas the People's Republic of China employs a wide range
of state-directed economic and industrial policies designed
to—
(1) disadvantage United States workers, firms, and long-
term economic competitiveness;
(2) secure dominance in strategic industries; and
(3) distort global markets, including by—
(A) exploiting its position across global supply chains,
such as critical minerals, advanced manufacturing inputs, and
other strategic goods;
(B) forcing technology transfers;
(C) engaging in intellectual property theft;
(D) creating market distortions;
(E) imposing expansive export controls; and
(F) establishing barriers to market access;
Whereas the People's Republic of China is working—
(1) to surpass the United States in the development of
critical emerging technologies, such as artificial
intelligence and quantum computing, which will define twenty-
first century economic and military power; and
(2) to use such technologies—
(A) to expand the reach and range of their offensive
military capabilities; and
(B) to conduct widespread cyber operations, including
operations targeting the United States and its partners;
Whereas the People's Republic of China continues to be the
primary source of precursor chemicals used by transnational
criminal organizations to synthesize illicit substances
(including illicit fentanyl and nitazenes) that harm
communities in the United States;
Whereas the People's Republic of China leverages
international institutions and regional organizations,
including standards-setting bodies and technical governance
frameworks, in ways that—
(1) give an unfair advantage to Chinese firms;
(2) embed technologies and rules preferred by the People's
Republic of China in global markets to the disadvantage of
companies in the United States and allied countries seeking
to compete in strategic sectors; and
(3) obstruct Taiwan's participation in global forums; and
Whereas the People's Republic of China is an authoritarian
state that—
(1) restricts and suppresses human rights, religious and
ethnic minority groups, civil society, and free speech and
media; and
(2) engages in a sophisticated global campaign of
transnational repression: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the
United States should—
(1) address the security, economic, technological,
diplomatic, and strategic threats posed by the People's
Republic of China as the foremost priorities of United States
foreign policy;
(2) sustain and strengthen deterrence against the People's
Republic of China and enhance the capacity of the United
States—
(A) to defend its interests;
(B) to support freedom of navigation; and
(C) to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific
region, including in the Taiwan Strait and the South China
Sea;
(3) protect United States economic interests against the
predatory economic and trade practices of the People's
Republic of China, including by—
(A) strengthening export controls and closing loopholes;
(B) restricting investments in strategic industries in the
United States;
(C) enforcing forced labor restrictions; and
(D) imposing costs to offset state-subsidized entities and
goods;
(4) dominate the artificial intelligence and other
foundational technologies sectors compared to the People's
Republic of China and other peer and near-peer competitors;
(5) reaffirm the ironclad United States commitment to, and
support for, United States treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific
region, which stand at the frontlines of the People's
Republic of China's aggression, increased defense spending to
deter such aggression, and provide vital basing for United
States forces, including—
(A) Japan, consistent with the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation
and Security Between the United States of America and Japan,
signed at Washington, January 19, 1960;
(B) South Korea, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty
Between the United States and the Republic of Korea, signed
at Washington, October 1, 1953;
(C) Australia, consistent with the Security Treaty between
Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America,
signed at San Francisco, September, 1951, and through the
partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom, and United
States (commonly known as “AUKUS”);
(D) the Philippines, consistent with the Mutual Defense
Treaty between the United States and the Philippines, signed
at Washington, August 30, 1951; and
(E) trilateral cooperation between United States allies in
the Indo-Pacific region, including among—
(i) the United States, Japan, and South Korea;
(ii) the United States, Japan, and the Philippines; and
(iii) the United States, Japan, and Australia;
(6) preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait
and maintain the longstanding United States policy on Taiwan,
guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (Public Law 96-8;
22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.), the Three Joint Communiques between
the United States and the People's Republic of China, and the
Six Assurances between the United States and Taiwan;
(7) strengthen support for United States partners in the
Indo-Pacific region, including partners facing military,
economic, and gray-zone coercion from the People's Republic
of China, including by—
(A) broadening United States engagement with India,
including through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue;
(B) advancing United States partnerships with countries
comprising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and
(C) working with Pacific island countries to support their
resilience and prosperity;
(8) mitigate the leadership and influence of the People's
Republic of China in multilateral organizations, technical
bodies, and international standards-setting institutions to
prevent the adoption of rules or standards that disadvantage
the interests of the United States or of its partners; and
(9) advance the democratic norms and values that promote
human rights, openness, and the flourishing of civil society
in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, in accordance with
United States laws, such as Public Law 117-78 (commonly
referred to as the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act”)
and the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law
115-409; 22 U.S.C. 3301 note).