US President Joe Biden has said that he has told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that it is never a good bet to bet against the American people. The Biden administration has already made it clear that the most effective way for America to out-compete a more assertive and authoritarian China over the long-term is to invest in its people, its economy and its democracy.
"I've told Xi Jinping, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people. We'll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernising roads, airports, ports, and waterways all across America. We will do it all to withstand the devastating effects of the climate crisis and promote environmental justice," Biden said in his first State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.
Biden announced plans to build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, begin to replace poisonous lead pipesùso every child - and every American - has clean water to drink at home and at school, and provide affordable high-speed internet for every Americanùurban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities.
"4,000 projects have already been announced," he said and announced that this year the US will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair.
"When we use taxpayer dollars to rebuild America we are going to Buy American: buy American products to support American jobs," he said.
Announcing to have an infrastructure decade, he said it is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that the country faces with the rest of the world - particularly with China.
Biden asserted that his administration will buy American equipment to make sure everything from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the steel on highway guardrails are made in America. "But to compete for the best jobs of the future, we also need to level the playing field with China and other competitors," he said.
"That's why it is so important to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress that will make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing," he added.
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