US Senate panel passes legislation to strip China of 'developing nation' status

A US Senate Committee has passed a legislation to strip China of its status as a “developing nation” at some international organisations.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the “Ending China’s Developing Nation Status Act” without dissent. The bill will now require the Secretary of State to pursue changing China’s status as a developing nation in international organizations.

After being approved by the committee, the measure will now be considered by the full Senate. However, it is not immediately known as to when that will take place.

Meanwhile, proponents of the bill have said that the status can allow special privileges in some organisations or treaties.

In March, the House of Representatives passed a similar measure by 415-0.

The desire for a hard line on China is one of the few truly bipartisan sentiments in the perennially divided US Congress, and members of Congress have introduced dozens of bills seeking to address competition with China’s communist government.

The Senate Foreign Relation Committee also approved the “Taiwan Protection and National Resilience Act”. Under this act, government agencies could be sought for reports on US options to prepare for and respond to a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims.

Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

With inputs from Reuters

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