Speaking with One Voice? The Bipartisan Consensus on China in the U.S. House

• In Event: Congress and Foreign Policy

Abstract

In recent years, analysts and observers claim that taking a harder line against China has become one of the few remaining bipartisan issues left in a highly partisan U.S. Congress. However, a closer look at China-related bills and resolutions reveals significant variation in the level of bipartisan support they receive. While some China-related legislation receives support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, others are supported by members of only one party. Under what conditions can Democrats and Republicans collaborate to deal with threats posed by China? In this paper, we present two conditions under which the two parties jointly support a
China-related measure. First, the proposed legislation is not related to U.S. domestic politics. Second, if the legislation is related to U.S. domestic politics, neither party claims the ownership of the issue addressed by the legislation. We analyzed China-related legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives between 2009 and 2022. The empirical results support our theory and reveal that bipartisan collaboration on China’s threats depends on the nature of the issue.

Authors

• Guan Wang, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• Weifang Xu, Florida State University