Bipartisan Legislation Promoting US Wireless Leadership Moves to House Vote

The legislation is aimed at countering China’s influence at international wireless standard-setting bodies.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and other lawmakers speak at a press briefing ahead of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in Washington on June 3, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A bipartisan legislation aimed at countering China’s ambition to dominate wireless technology is headed to a House vote, following its approval by the Energy and Commerce Committee on March 4.

Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), and Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) introduced the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2025 (H.R.1765) on March 3. A day later, the legislation was passed by the committee after a voice vote.

The bill requires the assistant secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to bring companies and relevant stakeholders together to create a unified strategy in standard-setting for 5G and future generations of wireless networks.

Dingell, co-chair of the congressional 5G and Beyond Caucus, said the legislation “will ensure the United States remains at the forefront of innovation by playing a central role in setting international wireless standards in existing and emerging technologies such as 5G, 6G, and what’s to come next.”

“The policy choices of today will have lasting effects on the global wireless technology development of tomorrow, especially as we continue to compete against China,” she said at the Energy and Commerce Committee markup on March 4.

Dingell said it is important for the United States to take concrete and proactive steps to lower barriers for American telecommunications companies to market entry.

“The Chinese government streamlines spectrum management, invests heavily in telecom infrastructure, and launches diplomatic efforts to shape international standards in its favor,” she added.

“So to maintain our technological edge, we must continue to counter China’s influence, whether by continuing to invest in domestic manufacturing of telecom infrastructure, or working to ensure that we shape the global standards that will define the future of telecommunications and other emerging technologies.”

Dingell expressed optimism that the legislation will become law in the current Congress.

A related bill was introduced in March 2023 and passed the House in December 2024. However, the legislation was never passed by the Senate in the previous Congress.

Kean, speaking at the committee markup, said the legislation would ensure that American companies, engineers, and policymakers “have a seat at the table in international standard-setting bodies.”

“By increasing U.S. engagement, we can promote fair competition, protect national security, and prevent foreign adversaries from shaping the future global communications to their advantage,” he added.

In terms of standard-setting bodies, the bill names the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), as well as other bodies “accredited by the American National Standard Insitute or Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions.”

3GPP is an umbrella organization that develops protocols for mobile telecommunications.

The Chinese regime has an economic blueprint called China Standards 2035, through which it seeks to have the country’s technical standards for advanced technologies chosen and exported to the international market. Doing so would make China less dependent on foreign technology, while Chinese companies can earn royalties from licensing their patents.

During a congressional hearing in March 2020, Melaine Hart, then-senior fellow and director of China policy at the Center for American Progress, stated in her written testimony that Chinese telecom giant Huawei had submitted more than 19,000 technical contributions to 3GPP, while U.S.-based Qualcomm and Intel made 5,994 and 3,656 technical contributions, respectively.

Huawei was also the leader in approved technical contributions; 3GPP members approved 5,855 contributions from Huawei, surpassing Qualcomm (1,994) and Intel (962), according to Hart at the time.

Hart also said at the time that Chinese firms owned about 36 percent of the patents essential for the global 5G standard, while U.S. companies held about 14 percent.

China also saw the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)—a branch of the United Nations that develops standards for information and communications technology—as a body that supports its own industrial policies, according to Hart.

“Beijing views the ITU as a platform China can leverage to reduce its dependence on foreign intellectual property and increase the royalties other nations pay to China. That, in turn, can increase China’s global market dominance,” Hart said in her testimony.