Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) discussed President Donald Trump's upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Varney & Co., saying he is "not crazy" about the meeting and urging Trump to take a hardline stance against China.
Host Stuart Varney began the discussion by playing footage of Trump recently saying he has a "great relationship" with Xi and that he intends to do "smart business" with him, asking Rep. Gimenez what he expects from the meeting.
"I want to come back with a better trade deal for China," Rep. Gimenez answered, adding that he would demand "a guarantee from China that they are not going to continue to produce the precursor chemicals to fentanyl, which has been killing hundreds of thousands of Americans."
As a member of the House China Select Committee, the Florida Congressman said he is "not a China fan, and I really am not crazy about the President going to China."
Last June, Gimenez grilled James C. Harris III, Assistant Director of Homeland Security Investigations' Countering Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC) division, on countering the Chinese manufacture of fentanyl precursor chemicals shipped to Mexico during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.
When Varney noted that the Chinese are supposedly offering to limit their support of Iran in exchange for the United States limiting its arms sales to Taiwan, Gimenez advised against it because "I do not trust China," and more importantly, "We have them where we want them," since Iran is unable to ship oil to China with the Strait of Hormuz blocked, and their reserves will not last forever.
"I think the President is holding the cards," Gimenez continued. "Also, China is very much proof-dependent, and so hopefully, the President gets that, and I am sure he knows that, and I know that this whole thing, what we are doing in Iran, also has this much bigger picture, which is exposing China's weaknesses, and we need to take advantage of those weaknesses to get the best deals that we can."
