This week, Florida Rep. Michael Waltz (R) shared some comments with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition through a Zoom conference. In the conference, he discussed his commitment to diplomacy, American spending that supports diplomatic efforts and development around the world and the tension between the United States and the Communist Party of China, warning that both countries are involved in a "cold war." A number of lawmakers have been vocal critics of the Communist Party of China, and Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D) recently introduced legislation that would address “China’s self-serving efforts to project power in South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico.”
In his comments, Rep. Waltz, a former senior policy advisor for the pentagon, a green beret combat veteran and currently serving as a colonel in the Army National Guard, expressed that “we are... in a cold war with the Chinese Communist Party,” adding that “they are certainly in one with us.”
The Florida lawmaker went on to explain that “as a country, we need to get on that footing” because “it’s not just a whole-of-a-government response.” “It’s a whole-of-society response,” he said, explaining that “when we look at things that are happening in the technology, space, in our universities, in our capital markets, where the Chinese are rapidly moving ahead, and talking about, openly, replacing the American Dream and American leadership around the world with the Chinese Dream and Chinese leadership.”
In turn, Rep. Waltz called for a deeper and broader response to China, affirming that they are seeking world dominance and that this is a grave concern that should be addressed.
A bipartisan response has also been critical of the Communist Party of China, which has caused for some lawmakers to be sanctioned by the country. Moreover, Rep. Murphy has also called on the United States to not only address tension with China but to also address a rise in violence targeting Asian Americans.
Last month, Murphy expressed that the U.S. has “to make a very clear distinction that our adversary and competitor is the Chinese Communist Party, not the Chinese people, and certainly not the Asian Americans who have contributed so much to this country.”
