Month: June 2023

Biden must get tough on China

By Sen. MARKWAYNE MULLIN

Our nation is at a turning point. China is expanding its influence, threatening our allies, and exploiting American weakness to achieve its goal of world domination.

To counter this threat, the Biden administration must do all it can to project U.S. strength on the world stage, regain energy independence, and equip American manufacturers with the resources and deregulation they need to support our nation and deter our adversaries. The reason is simple: U.S. strength is key for global stabilization.

Mullin it Over

Instead, under the current administration, the world has watched while China routinely exploits Joe Biden’s weaknesses in global manufacturing, trade, and national security.

While hard-working Oklahomans view China as the predominant global threat and adversary, Joe Biden thinks otherwise. He said so himself.

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From manufacturing to critical mineral supply, Joe Biden has increased our dependence on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at every turn. China currently dominates the global supply chain, and Joe Biden’s tax hikes on American manufacturers have made our nation more dependent on China while stifling our economy.

Recently, Biden vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have protected our economy from Chinese solar companies which are actively circumventing U.S. trade laws. Biden’s veto made clear his support for Chinese goods manufactured on the backs of slave labor, and his disinterest in building American independence from China.

Whether it be fear, cowardice, or appeasement that fuels Joe Biden’s policy decisions, it’s clear his view towards China puts Americans in harm’s way. If Biden got his way, our country would be entirely dependent on China to feed, fuel, and power every inch of our nation.

However, the consequences of Biden’s appeasement strategy don’t stop there. The CCP is also actively exploiting and profiting from Joe Biden’s open border disaster.

Record amounts of fentanyl have flowed from China to Mexico and into the United States since Joe Biden took office. Over the past two years, Border Patrol has seized 41,000 pounds of fentanyl – enough to kill the entire U.S. population 28 times over. This deadly drug surge threatens border towns and states across the country, including Oklahoma.

According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, there were 47 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2019. In 2022, the number of deaths skyrocketed to 300. Our top priority must be the safety and security of our citizens, and that means securing our border and getting tough on bad actors like China who are weaponizing the border crisis. To remedy Joe Biden’s national security, humanitarian, and public health crisis, the Biden administration must close our southern border and enforce immigration laws to reduce the dangers of Chinese fentanyl.

We also know that China is blatantly spying on the U.S. military and attempting to steal our national intelligence without significant consequence. Chinese nationals have purchased farmland near key military bases, including an Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, traversed spy balloons across the entire country, and established a spy base and military training facility in Cuba. These acts are blatant threats to U.S. sovereignty, but the CCP knows that under a weak leader like Joe Biden, they have every reason to press ahead without consequence.

In addition to military and national intelligence, U.S. intellectual property (IP) is vulnerable to Chinese hacking. America loses about $360 billion annually because of China’s IP theft. Not to mention, Tik Tok gives Communist China a front-row seat to the lives of roughly 150 million Americans. It has to stop.

In the absence of strong leadership from the United States, our enemies are emboldened, and Americans are less safe. When it comes to Chinese aggression, America needs peace through strength, not appeasement.

Senate Republicans stand united in our solutions to get tough on China. We must prioritize U.S. military strength, diversify the supply chain, ban China from purchasing U.S. farmland – especially near secure locations, and close the border to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl.

It’s far past time for Joe Biden to get tough on China, work with Congress to bolster our national security, and project strength on the global stage. The world is watching.

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) is a successful business owner and working cow-calf rancher serving Oklahoma on the Armed Services; Environment and Public Works; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Indian Affairs Committees. He is an enrolled member of Cherokee Nation and is the first Tribal citizen to serve in the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades. 

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