Washington, D.C. – TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, sent a letter to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in advance of its hearing examining how to counter China’s economic aggression. The following can be attributed to TechNet President and CEO Linda Moore:

“Ensuring the U.S. wins the next era of innovation is both an economic and national security imperative. China continues to make generational investments to overtake the U.S. in innovation leadership. To prevent that from happening, we must continue to invest in American innovation and strengthen our talent pipeline.

“A recent study shows China has taken the lead over the U.S. in 37 of 44 technologies, from defense and energy to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. China has set itself up to excel not just in current technological development, but in future technologies that don’t yet exist.

“Last Congress, lawmakers laid the foundation for the future of U.S. innovation by passing the CHIPS and Science Act. Congress must finish the job by fully funding these investments, including the heart of the CHIPS Act, the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs Program. This program will inspire a new generation of innovators across the heartland, create new jobs, and reignite local communities that are ripe for potential by building the world’s leading centers for critical and emerging technologies.

“We must continue to prepare our workforce for the technology-enabled jobs of tomorrow while attracting talent to fill the vacancies that exist today. We’ll need at least 50,000 new semiconductor engineers over the next five years and 90,000 skilled technicians by 2030 to staff all of the new factories and research labs that will be built with CHIPS Act subsidies. Those numbers far exceed current U.S. STEM graduation rates. To fill these openings, Congress must make it easier to attract and retain the world’s best and brightest and put their talents to work for the American economy.

“We commend the Committee for examining ways to counter the economic threats and challenges posed by China. With the right policies in place, we can beat China and our other foreign competitors and win the next era of innovation.”

To read the full letter, click here.