The United States is unable to build its weapons fast enough, and the mismatch between the quality and speed "presents a growing strategic risk" as Washington needs to support active combat operations, "while deterring the larger and more technically advanced pacing threat looming in the Indo-Pacific," the draft read.
"[The US defense industry] does not possess the capacity, capability, responsiveness, or resilience required to satisfy the full range of military production needs at speed and scale," the National Defense Industrial Strategy was cited as saying by Politico on Saturday.
Over the past 30 years, China has become a global manufacturing center for naval vessels, mining and microelectronics, and now the Chinese industry "vastly exceeds the capacity of not just the United States, but the combined output of our key European and Asian allies as well," the document said.
At the same time, the US has the largest defense budget in the world, accounting for some 40% of global military spending in 2022 and exceeding China's military spending by several times.