Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) spoke at a Heritage Foundation event to discuss the geopolitical relationship between the United States and China, something that is being referred to as the “New Cold War.”
As Americans have debated whether China or Russia is America’s greatest present adversary, Sen. Rubio makes the case that no matter what side of the issue you fall on, the time to address Chinese aggression is approaching, if it isn’t already here.
“I think China has obviously gotten more aggressive, more transparent about what they're trying to do in the world. And there's a growing bipartisan consensus that something needs to happen about it. But I still think this needs a lot more framework. And what I mean by that is that it's really easy to stand in front of cameras and say, ‘I'm going to be tough on China,’ but I think it has to tie in to why. Why does it matter? So that you can do it in a way that's smart and intelligent and actually serves the national interest,” stated Sen. Rubio.
He would go on to mention that America’s foreign policy, especially when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its rise to power, is outdated.
“Today we are a country where the majority of people in government, and certainly the majority of prominent people in society, have never lived in a world where America has a near-peer competitor, another country with similar power and with hostile intentions. We've never lived in a world like that. And much of our policies and our approach to the world to this day are built on a world that no longer exists,” said Rubio.
He would also point out the notion that America has a long supply chain that was exposed during COVID. That supply chain could make the United States incredibly vulnerable due to its dependence on the east Asian nation.
“And then one of the things that COVID revealed that already existed is these very vulnerable, long supply chains…Well, we've learned that our supply chains are about as long as they can be, literally from the other side of the world to the other. And they're not just far away. They happen to disproportionately reside in the hands of our geopolitical adversary, a nation that will have no problem using that as leverage against us,” Rubio stated.
However, one of Rubio’s closing statements was that America might have its problems and its previous iniquities, but it has, for the most part, remained on the right side of history.
“Do you have a right to criticize an American decision from time to time? Absolutely, because at the end of the day, no one's claimed that America is perfect. I don't claim our history is perfect. I claim it's better than anybody else's. That's what I claim. And I think we have history on our side to prove it.”
