Welcome to Thoughts on the Market.

I'm Michael Zezis, Head of Public Policy Research and Municipal Strategy for Morgan Stanley.

Along with my colleagues bringing you a variety of perspectives, I'll be talking about

the intersection between U.S. Public Policy and Financial Markets.

It's Wednesday, June 2 at 10.30 a.m. in New York.

It's easy to look at the legislative process in Washington, D.C. and say that bipartisanship

is dead.

But there's one place where bipartisanship is alive and well.

One directed at increasing U.S. competitiveness with China.

You probably recall that the Trump administration often criticized China.

The Biden administration's tone isn't substantially different.

Take the statement last week from Kurt Campbell, the U.S. coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs

at the National Security Council.

Regarding China, he said, quote, the period that was broadly described as engagement has

come to an end, unquote.

And now the U.S. is seeing China shifting toward, quote, hard power and being, quote,

determined to play a more assertive role.

Congress is mirroring this concern in the bipartisan way, with reports indicating it's on the precipice

of passing a bill called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, or U.S. ICA.

The bill in many ways underscores the dynamic we highlighted in a recent geopolitical

risk playbook, a lasting competitive confrontation between the U.S. and China that would mean non-tariff

barriers and aggressive economic tactics would endure.

...