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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has convened a hearing titled “Made in China 2025 and the Future of American Industry.” Earlier this month, he released a report by the same name, which is the first product of the Project for Strong Labor Markets and National Development from Rubio’s committee staff. A copy of the report can be found here.
The hearing is livestreamed on the committee’s website here.
Chairman Rubio’s opening remarks as prepared can be found below:
Rubio: “Today’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will come to order.
“I want to thank you all for being here, and say welcome to our witnesses.
“Today’s hearing is titled ‘Made in China 2025 and the Future of American Industry.’ I believe we are at a critical moment. When the history of the 21st century is written, the defining factor will be the relationship between the U.S. and China.
“American competitiveness faces an unprecedented threat from the Chinese government. We have not yet encountered a threat like China, which unlike previous competitors has developed tremendous commercial power to use against American interests across the world.
“While the challenge we face with the Chinese government is ultimately one of national security – and more fundamentally about whether or not the future of the world will be marked by authoritarianism – one of the most immediate concerns we face today comes in the form of China’s industrial policy.
“The Chinese government’s plan, called ‘Made in China 2025,’ is a plan for industrial dominance in ten key technological sectors, some of which the U.S. is the current global leader. For Chinese companies to meet the production targets the plan sets out, it will take their success at the expense of the U.S.
“To some extent, this is already happening. The initial period following China’s accession to the World Trade Organization witnessed a devastation to American small and medium-sized manufacturers in concentrated areas throughout the country – an effect now known as the ‘China Shock.’
“Understanding the goals of Made in China 2025, we must decide whether this ‘shock’ should be allowed to expand up the value chain and across industries. I for one believe that this cannot be an option.
“A committee produced report that I recently released, titled ‘Made in China 2025 and the Future of American Industry,’ lays out the challenges posed by this whole-of-society industrial plan, as well as a path forward to strengthen American economic security.
“One thing is clear: just as business firms compete, so do nations. Through plans like Made in China 2025, China has set its sights on many of the high-value industries that America cannot afford to lose.
“Through this whole-of-society strategy, the Chinese government attempts to steal, subsidize, and ultimately compete its way to the top of the global production value chain. In sum, they aim to supplant American industrial leadership by any means necessary.
“Fortunately, the American system contains intrinsic advantages that the Chinese government’s totalitarianism rejects. Our marketbased economy and free society operate with an efficiency and openness that is impossible in China’s command and control regime.
“American freedoms and the open exchange of ideas attract talented and idealistic individuals from across the globe who contribute to the continuous building of our nation’s capabilities.
“American ingenuity and innovation, in combination with our political freedoms, have created the world’s most successful and forward-thinking companies.
“Small businesses, which support dignified work, strengthen families, and sustain communities, are particularly susceptible to the dangers of state-backed import competition. Trade normalization with China occurred with the optimistic promise of fair market access, economic liberalization, and an improvement in Chinese political and human rights.
“However, instead of opening, China took advantage by discounting international trade rules and norms to the detriment of American productive capabilities.
“Chinese industrial and trade practices including large-scale subsidies, forced technology transfers, and obstructing market access to foreign firms underscore the nation’s disregard for its international trade commitments.
“Beyond merely breaking the rules, the Chinese government is seeking to dictate the terms and conditions of the future of global trade for its own benefit.
“In the absence of a concerted American policy response, Made in China 2025 threatens to replicate the effects of ‘China Shock’ on high-value capital goods, such as computers and aerospace products.
“It is important to note that these threats to American competitiveness are not contingent upon the total success of Made in China 2025 or any other industrial plan.
“Command and control central planning is a flawed economic approach with countless pitfalls and downsides.
“However, as many Americans workers know personally, this does not mean that such an approach cannot have devastating impacts on U.S. production, jobs, and small businesses.
“In many important measures, China has already achieved success, capturing leading positions in global economic standings previously held by the U.S.
“In order to confront this challenge, we must choose to prioritize national development, economic dynamism, and small business competitiveness.
“This growth agenda entails a focus on domestic physical investment and labor market stabilization.
“It also means that we must enact in-kind responses to malicious Chinese trade and industrial practices.
“As an economic development agency, the Small Business Administration is particularly suited to support innovation-focused production ecosystems.
“Programs such as the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC), the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) serve as tools which can be used to further promote a nimble, innovative, and high-growth industrial strategy.
“I look forward to engaging with the witnesses to explore the findings of the Made in China 2025 report and its implications for the future of American competitiveness.”