A group of U.S. lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Wednesday unveiled a bipartisan legislative package designed to expand U.S. engagement with China and increase American competitiveness in the global marketplace.

The package, U.S.-China Competitiveness Agenda of 2007, comprises of four bills which propose legislation to expand America's diplomatic infrastructure in China, boost support to small- and medium-sized American businesses exporting to the China market, increase funds for Chinese language instruction in the United States and build new cooperative energy ties between the U. S. and China, the lawmakers said at a press conference held in the Capital Hill.

They are Representatives Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rick Larsen (D- Wash.), who co-chair the bipartisan House U.S.-China Working Group, as well as Representatives Susan Davis (D-Calif.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.). Representatives Davis and Israel are also members of the House U.S.-China Working Group.

Representative Kirk's legislation, the U.S.-China Diplomatic Expansion Act of 2007, authorizes the construction of a new consulate in Wuhan and 100 smaller diplomatic posts in cities with more than a million people.

The bill triples funding for public diplomacy, boosts funding for a range of language, student and teacher exchange programs, increase funding for rule of law initiatives and more than triples the U.S. contribution to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Kirk is also co-sponsoring three other bills in the U.S.-China Competitiveness Agenda, including Representative Larsen's U.S.- China Market engagement and Export Promotion Act of 2007, Representative Davis' U.S.-Chinese Language Engagement Act of 2007 and Representative Israel's U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Act of 2007.

The Larsen bill would help American states establish export promotion offices in China and create a new China Market Advocate program at U.S. Export Assistance Centers around the country. The bill provides assistance to small businesses for China trade missions and authorizes grants for Chinese business education programs.

"We need innovative programs that support our small business exports and arm them with the tools they need to succeed in China, " Kirk said.

Introducing the U.S.-Chinese Language Engagement Act, Representative Davis told reporters that while there are roughly 200 million students learning English in China today, only about 50,000 primary and secondary school students study Chinese in America.

The Davis bill, according to a version available to Xinhua, increases Chinese cultural studies and language acquisition for elementary, high school and college-age students. Grants would be available to fund university joint venture programs, virtual cultural exchanges with Chinese schools and intensive summer language instruction programs.

"We have more than just a trade deficit with China -- We also have a knowledge deficit," Kirk said. "We need additional funding for domestic Chinese language programs, educational exchanges and Chinese teacher exchanges to fix this knowledge imbalance."

The Israel bill, or the U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Act of 2007, authorizes new grants to fund U.S.-China energy and climate exchange education programs, along with joint research and development of energy efficient technologies and renewable energy sources.