Two pieces of legislation cosponsored on June 2 by U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) would address the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive global infrastructure and development strategy launched in 2013 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that aims to connect Asia, Africa, and Europe through extensive networks of railways, energy pipelines, highways, and maritime ports to boost global trade and Chinese economic influence.
“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,” Rep. Nunn said. “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,” added Rep. Nunn.
The congressman introduced both the Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now (TRAIN) Act, H.R. 9092, and the Build Responsible Infrastructure Development for the Global Economy (BRIDGE) Act, H.R. 9093, alongside U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), who sponsored both bills.
Since its launch, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has grown into a nearly $1.4 trillion global infrastructure campaign spanning more than 150 countries. In 2025, the BRI engagement reached a record $213.5 billion in construction contracts and investments, demonstrating Beijing’s accelerating use of infrastructure financing to expand political influence, deepen economic dependence on China, and secure control over strategic assets abroad, according to Rep. Nunn and his colleague.
If enacted, H.R. 9092 would direct the U.S. State Department to provide training and technical assistance to government officials in non-adversarial countries across South and Central Asia, helping them evaluate and mitigate the legal and financial risks associated with investment and lending from China and other foreign adversaries.
The legislation would also require annual reporting to Congress on foreign adversary agreements that could pose economic or national security risks to the United States, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
H.R. 9093 would require the State Department, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and other relevant federal agencies to develop a coordinated government-wide strategy to counter the BRI.
The bill would require a formal assessment of how the CCP uses the BRI to expand its economic and political influence worldwide and to establish measurable objectives to strengthen America’s competitiveness and strategic engagement abroad, the summary says.
Both measures are under consideration by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.