Republicans’ ideas for cutting the US budget could undermine manufacturing and help China dominate the world economy, US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a semiconductor maker in North Carolina to highlight his own policies, Biden is trying to shape public sentiment as he faces off with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy about whether the federal government should increase its borrowing capacity.
McCarthy sent a letter saying that negotiations should start about possible spending cuts in return for the debt limit increase.
Photo: Bloomberg
Biden has said that Republicans need to put forth their own budget plan before negotiations start.
Without an agreement, the federal government could default on its financial obligations.
Republican demands on the budget would only empower China, the country’s key geopolitical rival, Biden said.
“It would mean ceding the future of innovation and technology to China,” Biden said.
“I’ve got news for you and for MAGA Republicans in Congress: Not on my watch,” he said, referring to the “Make America Great Again” slogan of former US president Donald Trump. “We’re not going to let them undo all the progress we made.”
Biden’s trip to Wolfspeed follows the Durham-based company announcing plans in September last year to build a US$5 billion manufacturing facility in Chatham County that is expected to create 1,800 new jobs.
Separately, Biden was to open the Summit for Democracy in Washington with a pledge for the US to spend US$690 million bolstering democracy programs around the globe.
The administration said it wants to use the two-day summit, which was to begin yesterday, to zero in on making “technology work for and not against democracy,” a senior administration official said.
The new funding would focus on programs that support free and independent media, combat corruption, bolster human rights, advance technology that improves democracy, and support free and fair elections, said the official, who previewed the summit on the condition of anonymity.
The administration has also come to an agreement with 10 other nations on guiding principles for how the governments should use surveillance technology, the official added.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
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The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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