Communist China is moving quickly to replace the U.S. as the world’s preeminent superpower and it’s no surprise. The only thing standing between the Chinese Communist Party and global domination is one of the weakest presidents in U.S. history. Joe Biden has proven time and again that he would rather kowtow to Beijing than stand strong against our nation’s greatest adversary.
Instead of standing up to the Chinese, President Biden makes excuses for their aggression. Earlier this month, Biden suggested that the Chinese government never intended to deploy a spy balloon over the U.S. on a week-long intelligence-gathering mission. Now, he claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping was unaware of the spy balloon flight. Biden laughably asserted that the balloon was “blown off course.” Who believes that?
Meanwhile, China’s tentacles are reaching closer to our shores. China has reportedly maintained a spy base in Cuba since 2019, operating alongside four other suspected electronic eavesdropping facilities owned by Chinese telecom companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE. This is happening just 100 miles from Florida and could allow China to intercept electronic commercial and military communications in the U.S.
China’s predatory moves don’t stop there. Beijing is working to establish a military training facility on the northern coast of Cuba, which would mean a major troop presence on Florida’s doorstep. The close range all but ensures additional surveillance and espionage from the Chinese. The U.S. must do everything it can to ensure this facility is not built.
These alarming developments arise as Biden prepares for yet another retreat. After 21 years of maintaining port security units at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard has ended its maritime security detachment there. Pulling security assets out of Gitmo at a time when China is embedding itself in Cuba is a dangerous move. It's yet another one of Biden’s catastrophic foreign policy blunders that will be felt for years to come.
When Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China last week, he should have challenged this aggression. He should have made clear that the United States will hold the CCP accountable for COVID. He should have informed Xi that his government will face consequences for continuously bullying Taiwan and that intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices will no longer be tolerated.
Instead, Blinken bent the knee to President Xi and then failed to persuade him to resume military-to-military communication. As a perfect representation of the way China views America under Biden, Xi sat at the head of the table during his meeting with Blinken while the Secretary of State was placed to the side. In contrast, when former President Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Xi, the two sat side-by-side. Joe Biden wants to meet with Xi Jinping, and Blinken’s visit was clearly nothing more than an attempt to butter up high-ranking CCP officials. This isn’t just embarrassing, it is grossly irresponsible.
China is taking advantage of our feckless president by embarrassing his deputies on the world stage, launching full-scale surveillance operations against our national security installations, and shifting military assets ever closer to the U.S. The last thing that Biden and Blinken should be doing is capitulating to Beijing. In order to combat an increasingly aggressive China, we should instead build up our military and make deterrence a priority.
Communist China is the Soviet Union of the 21st century. It’s time we start acting like it.
Senator Marsha Blackburn