Florida Lawmakers Unhappy With Yellen's China Trip

US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen is visiting China this week on a diplomatic trip to strengthen economic ties between both nations. 

Via press conference in Beijing, Secretary Yellen underscored President Joe Biden’s desire to expand existing bilateral American-Chinese economic partnerships and forge new ones. 

Yellen suggested a US separation from China would be a poor outcome for both American and Chinese citizens. 

“The United States does not seek to decouple from China. Our two economies are deeply integrated, and a wholesale separation would be disastrous for both of our economies,” said Yellen. 

Simultaneously, Yellen warned of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) economic policies that could adversely impact US markets. 

“Actions taken by (China) today can shift world prices. And when the global market is flooded by artificially cheap Chinese products, the viability of American and other foreign firms is put into question,” continued Yellen. 

Conservative lawmakers have consistently resisted expansionist trade efforts with China for similar worries. 

Additionally, allegations of Chinese human rights abuses have further disincentivized interest in growing American involvement with China. 

US Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) criticized Yellen’s arrival in China, suggesting the Biden administration is ignoring the dangers of working with the Chinese. 

“Why (is Biden) rewarding the CCP’s spying, human rights abuse and manipulation? We should be telling every American to STOP DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CCP, not sacrificing our country’s safety and markets in weak bows to the communists,” said Senator Scott. 

Aside from acerbic rhetoric, Chinese firms have also faced increased scrutiny from conservatives in the past year. 

US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), for example, is leading an effort to ban Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok. 

A bill being currently debated in the Senate would mandate TikTok sell a majority of its shares to American businesses or be banned from American markets. 

Senator Rubio has claimed that "as long as Chinese engineers control TikTok's algorithm, the app remains a danger to Americans' data."

President Biden has allegedly agreed with conservatives, saying that he would sign a bill banning TikTok in the United States if Congress were to pass it.