Fitzgerald and Nunn Introduce TRAIN and BRIDGE Acts to Counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Economic Coercion

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) introduced two pieces of legislation focused on countering China alongside Congressman Zach Nunn (IA-03): the Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now (TRAIN) Act and the Build Responsible Infrastructure Development for the Global Economy (BRIDGE) Act.

The TRAIN Act directs the State Department to help non-adversarial partner governments analyze and mitigate legal and financial risks before accepting investment or lending from China or other foreign adversaries.

This effort comes as China continues to use the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to expand its economic and strategic influence through infrastructure lending, investment agreements, and long-term financing relationships with developing countries. Since BRI's launch, more than 150 countries and 32 international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China, including countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific. The scale of BRI activity has continued to grow, with 2025 engagement reaching an estimated $213.5 billion in construction contracts and investments, and cumulative BRI engagement approaching $1.4 trillion since 2013.

The BRIDGE Act establishes it is U.S. policy to counter efforts by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to build an integrated economic and political order under Beijing's leadership that threatens U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The bill requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, the CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and other relevant agencies, to submit a report to Congress within 180 days assessing the scope of PRC and CCP efforts to use BRI to undermine the U.S.-led international order.

While the United States has taken steps to counter BRI through initiatives such as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and broader economic statecraft tools, the federal government still lacks a single, integrated, government-wide strategy focused specifically on countering BRI.

"China has turned the Belt and Road Initiative into a weapon of economic coercion, building leverage through debt, controlling critical infrastructure, and pulling countries deeper into Beijing's orbit," said Rep. Fitzgerald. "The TRAIN Act helps countries avoid walking into those traps in the first place, and the BRIDGE Act ensures the United States is better positioned to address this challenge."

"China has spent decades buying up the ports, power grids, and trade routes of developing nations, trapping them in debt and rigging the global market in their favor," said Rep. Nunn. "That hits Iowa directly: our farmers and manufacturers compete to feed and supply the world, and they can't win on a field Beijing is tilting in their own favor. Our bills would give the United States a coordinated, whole-of-government strategy to counter China's invest-to-control strategy of economic coercion, help partner nations walk away from a bad deal with Beijing, and keep the playing field fair for Iowa."

These bills are part of a broader legislative effort by Rep. Fitzgerald to counter China's growing economic and strategic influence, with additional measures expected to be introduced in the coming days.

###