A Senate committee on Wednesday passed a bill aimed at significantly enhancing U.S. support to Taiwan, including through billions of dollars in security assistance, amid China's increasing pressure on the self-ruled island.

The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden said it welcomes the bipartisan backing for Taiwan and wants to work with Congress to strengthen it further. But it reacted with caution to the bill, which is sure to anger China if it becomes legislation.

"It's going to go through multiple processes before it reaches an end. So we're going to let that go through," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters prior to the bill's passage through the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She did not respond to questions seeking confirmation on whether Biden personally supports the bill.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary. It has been vocal in opposition to any actions it regards as interference in China's "internal affairs."

The Taiwan Policy Act would allocate $4.5 billion in security assistance to Taiwan over four years and sets up a broad economic sanctions regime on China over hostile actions against the island, Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the committee, said in a press release.

The Democratic lawmaker emphasized that the bill's primary focus is "deterrence and on enhancing Taiwan's capabilities" and that it is clear that the United States "does not seek war or increased tensions with Beijing."

Taiwan's Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang said the U.S. Senate had demonstrated bipartisan support for Taiwan through the bill's passage.

"Taiwan's position has always been not yielding to pressure and not acting recklessly when we get support," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing is "firmly opposed to" the bill and has made a "serious demarche" to Washington, claiming the legislation violates the one-China principle and constitutes interference in the Asian country's internal affairs.

Mao urged Congress to stop advancing deliberations on the bill, saying it will "greatly shake the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and cause extremely serious consequences" to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

When the bill was introduced in June, Menendez called it the "most comprehensive restructuring" of U.S. policy towards Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979 after the United States switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

Under the act, the United States maintains substantive though unofficial ties with Taiwan and supplies the island with arms and spare parts to enable it to sustain sufficient self-defense capabilities.

The U.S. government, meanwhile, has maintained an ambiguous position regarding the use of military force in response to any potential Chinese attack on Taiwan, a policy known as "strategic ambiguity."

The policy is intended not only to deter China from using force against Taiwan but also to dissuade Taiwan from seeking independence, as neither Beijing nor Taipei can feel certain the United States would intervene to defend the island should a military conflict arise.

Among other issues, the Taiwan Policy Act also calls for Taiwan to be designated as a "major non-NATO ally," which, according to the State Department homepage, provides countries with certain benefits in security cooperation and other areas.

The status, however, does not entail any security commitments to the designated country, unlike members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the department said.