Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio warned during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that it will take China less than 10 years to virtually control every aspect of Americans’ lives — if the U.S. fails to “change course.”
Rubio said the Chinese Communist’s Party’s (CCP) stronghold over key industries and critical materials will lead America to become “entirely dependent” on China for a wide range of products, ranging from medicine to films, in the near future. The nominee, who has repeatedly warned of the threat China poses, said the U.S. must prevent such an “unacceptable outcome” from occurring.
“If we stay on the road we’re on right now, [in] less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us will depend on whether China allows us to have it or not,” Rubio said. “Everything from the blood pressure medicine we take, to what movies we get to watch and everything in between, we will depend on China for it. They have come to dominate the critical mineral industry [and] supplies throughout the world. Throughout the world, they’ve now established critical mineral rights, even those who want to see more electric cars, no matter where you make them, those batteries are almost entirely dependent on the ability and the willingness of the Chinese Communist Party to produce and export it to you.”
“So if we don’t change course, we’re going to live in a world where everything that matters to us on a daily basis, from our security to our health, will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not. That is an unacceptable outcome,” he continued.
WATCH:
The Chinese government banned Rubio from entering the country in July 2020 over his criticisms of the genocide against Uyghur Muslims. The nation further sanctioned Rubio and five other members of Congress in August 2020 over their public criticism of their human rights violations.
Rubio called for a ban on TikTok as early as 2021 after China acquired a 1% stake in Beijing ByteDance Technology. Documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday found that TikTok forced former marketing executive Katie Puris, an American, to sign an oath supporting China’s “socialist system” and “national interests.”
TikTok is expected to shut down its app for U.S. users on Sunday after a federal ban on the app came into effect.
The secretary of State nominee, along with Republican Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar, sent a letter to the Pentagon in late August requesting that the Department of Defense (DOD) ban CATL, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer from receiving U.S. military contracts.
The lawmakers accused the manufacturer of being controlled by China due to “subsidies, tax incentives [and] favorable procurement deals” from the CCP and of furthering the interests of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by supporting its battery infrastructure.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Rubio to be his administration’s secretary of state on Nov. 13, praising him as a “a very powerful Voice for Freedom” and “and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
