The U.S. Senate this week passed a major piece of new legislation, the Innovation and Competition Act. The Act is designed to counter the Chinese Communist Party in its effort to steal from, manipulate against, and undermine the United States and its allies.

Involving nearly $200 billion in new financial support to various government agencies and economic interests, the Act is focused on those areas of Communist action that are seen to most threaten America’s technological advantages.

Semiconductor chip manufacturers will receive tens of billions of dollars in new subsidies, and the government’s National Science Foundation will receive big boosts to its budget for evolving technologies grants. The hope is that these investments will allow the U.S. to ensure it retains the technological edge over the Communists, both in terms of military capability and civilian economic innovation. Relevant to my last Apple Daily column, the Senate legislation also includes support for greater 5G research and development. This is designed to generate affordable alternatives to Communist-run 5G providers such as Huawei.

The Act also directs President Joe Biden to take a tougher sanctions stance against Communist-controlled interests that steal U.S. intellectual property or demand technology transfers in return for access to the Chinese market. This increased measure of accountability for hostile Communist actions is long overdue.

Yet the Act isn’t just focused on the U.S. economy. It also provides greater support for American allies such as Australia which have come under increasing trade pressure from Beijing. The support is much needed. Australia, after all, continues to suffer under a major Communist trade blackmail campaign. Beijing has been infuriated by Australia’s crackdown on Communist espionage on its soil, and by Australia’s support for U.S. efforts to restrain the Communists imperialist campaign in the South China Sea. In response, the Communists have been restricting Australian imports and making clear that normal trade relations – if there is such a thing with the Communists! – will only be restored if and when Australia returns to an appeasement policy. That is to say, when Australia stays quiet and lets China do what it wants across the region. Were Australia to accept that deal with the devil it would obviously diminish Australia’s democracy and security. At the same time, it would greatly undercut America’s influence and the security of democratic nations in the Indo-Pacific. Part of the Senate’s motivation is thus to ensure that allies like Australia find greater American support as they face down Communist intimidation.

Most importantly, this legislation underlines how members of Congress have come to recognize a quite basic truth. Put simply, that there is little sense in trusting a regime that terrorizes candlelight vigils, destroys accurate recordings of history, wages genocide against its own people, and throws innocents in prison simply for describing Xi as a clown. This truth, of course, is obvious to anyone who has the eyes and ears to see and hear what the Communists are doing around the world (anyone except, perhaps, Angela Merkel).

Still, there is a difference between recognizing the reality of the Communists’ aggression and taking steps to confront it. The Senate equalizes that balance. It will now hand over the mantle to the House of Representatives to pass its own version of the bill. When that occurs, the two chambers will reconcile each other’s packages and the legislation will go to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

The struggle between China and the United States is of the utmost importance. At its core, it is a struggle between authoritarianism and freedom. We should thus welcome any steps such as this one that furthers the interests of freedom. This is a good week for America and freedom, and a bad week for the Communists.

(Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner foreign policy writer)

Tom Rogan’s article can be found in our Columnist section.

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