Senators introduce legislation to create international tech partnerships

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and a coalition of bipartisan senators on Thursday introduced legislation intended to help the U.S. create international partnerships on emerging technologies in order to better compete with China.

The Democracy Technology Partnership Act would create an interagency office at the State Department tasked with coordinating partnerships among the U.S. and other democratic countries to promote research and set standards around emerging technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, 5G and semiconductors.

The legislation is meant to help the U.S. and other democratic nations compete with China, and is cosponsored by bipartisan leaders including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).