Farm owner Bill Pellett speaks during an interview at his corn field in his family farm in Atlantic, a small city in the Midwestern state of Iowa, the United States, June 18, 2019. From cattle feeders in Iowa to pecan growers in Georgia, US farmers are worrying about further damage caused by market uncertainties as trade tensions between the world's two largest economies drag on. Photo: Xinhua

US Senator Marco Rubio on December 10 called for "a 21st-century pro-American industrial policy" in a speech delivered at the Washington DC-based National Defense University. Rubio said he wants to encourage investment in "strategically important industries" to counter China. 

Let's put aside, for the moment, whether the Rubio-advocated pro-American industrial policy could help the US deal with the rise of China. The speech itself reflected Rubio's lack of understanding of China's economic system and that of the US as well. 

Rubio believes US industries are not supported by their government or industrial policy so the country is engaged in an unfair competition with China, which he claimed to have an "industrial policy." In fact, the US has had a large-scale industrial policy seeking to maintain global competitiveness of relevant industries and strengthening the country's economic hegemony. 

A well-known example is agricultural subsidies that American farmers receive. The US government currently pays about $25 billion in cash annually to farmers and owners of farmland, according to ThoughtCo, a New York-based information website. In addition, the US Congress approved "a massive farm bill that will provide more than $400 billion for agriculture subsides, conservation programs and food aid," the Associated Press reported in December 2018. US agricultural industries are competitive around the world thanks to these government subsidies. 

The US-launched trade war against China caused the drop in US agriculture exports to China from nearly $20 billion in 2017 to $9 billion in 2018. Farm bankruptcies in September rose 24 percent and US President Donald Trump provided $28 billion in bailouts to farmers affected by the trade war, a volume much higher than the actual loss suffered by farmers.

Even the US' globally competitive financial industry is not without government subsidies. Due to the 2008 financial crisis, the US Congress approved in October 2008 the $700 billion bailout for the financial system. This intervention in the market was of a higher order. In the name of protecting financial markets, this move actually tamed normal competition among market players, distorted financial resource allocation, and provided government support to the country's financial sector on the global stage.

In addition to the above-mentioned industries, the US government has also been targeting the high-tech sphere with research and development investment. Before China announced its "Made in China 2025" industrial plan in 2015, US National Science and Technology Council under Executive Office of the President had issued in February 2012 the "National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing" to strengthen investment in and support to important industries and areas such as 3D printing, "smart" manufacturing, and composite materials. 

After US President Donald Trump took office, he has signed executive orders meant to spur development of artificial intelligence and quantum information science, and his administration is pushing for new space exploration to assure US has an upper hand in global competition. 

Unlike other countries' industrial policies that focus on increasing internal coherence, the US policy aims at using the country's strength to strike any country or company that could possibly challenge the US in key technology sectors. This has been proven in the field of 5G technology. The US government has been cracking down on Chinese tech giant Huawei to buy itself and its allies time to develop the 5G technology. 

The country groundlessly hits foreign competitors so as to nurture its own companies - it's a kind of US industrial policy "innovation."

Admit it or not, all economies have an industrial policy. If one country thinks another's industrial policy is unfair, the global appellate body can be approached for settlement. Yet it is far beyond ignorant to act like Rubio who has turned a blind eye to US industrial policy and calls the country a victim. 

The author is deputy director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn