The US Senate passed bipartisan legislation on Thursday, intending to strip China of its status as a “developing nation” at certain international organisations.
The “Ending China’s Developing Nation Status Act” was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee without dissent. It will now require the Secretary of State to pursue changing the Asian superpower’s status as a developing nation in international organisations.
According to the bill’s proponents, the status of a ‘developing’ country can allow countries special privileges in some organisations or treaties.
The committee allows for the measure to be considered by the full Senate. However, it is unclear when that is expected to happen.
Prior Legislation
In March, the House of Representatives passed a similar measure by 415-0.
Young Kim, the Republican congresswoman from California who introduced the bill, said before the 27 March vote that China accounted for 18.6% of the global economy.
China's status as the world's largest developing country is based on facts and international law. It cannot be erased with a US bill. China's contribution to world economic growth and peacekeeping and the amount of UN dues far exceeds that of most developed countries: FM pic.twitter.com/SyTEN1ygEn
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 9, 2023
“Their economy size is second only to that of the United States. [The] United States is treated as a developed country, so should [China],” she argued.
Kim, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, introduced the bill with Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia. A hard line on China remains one of the few truly bipartisan agendas in the divided US Congress. Over the past few years, members have introduced several bills seeking to address competition with China.
Chinese Reaction
At the time, Chinese state mouthpiece China Daily slammed the move for being “another example of US policy aimed at containment of China.”
“Faced with a rising China and the collapse of a unipolar world, centred on the US, to one which is multipolar, with China playing a major role, the United States is using every play in its book to prevent such occurring,” the news agency said.
Developing or Developed?
In its official communication, China has long maintained the narrative of being a developing country.
Former Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi argued in 2019 that China’s per capita GDP was only one-sixth of the US.
“Requiring a country that has only been developing for a few decades to shoulder the responsibilities of those industrial countries who have developed for hundreds of years, this itself is unfair,” he said at a press conference.