(Washington) The question of the rivalry between Beijing and Washington was at the center of Wednesday’s hearing in the Senate by Marco Rubio, the head of diplomacy designated by Donald Trump.
Before the Foreign Affairs Committee, the 53-year-old probable future Secretary of State affirmed that China was “the most powerful and dangerous adversary that the United States has had to face” in its history, equipped with “elements that the Soviet Union never possessed”.
The current Florida senator has accused China of “cheating” its way to global superpower status.
“We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this world order” after the Cold War, and “they took advantage of all its benefits, but they ignored all its duties and responsibilities,” he said.
For Marco Rubio, this world order is not only “obsolete”, but has now become “a weapon used” against the United States.
“If we stay on the path we are currently on, in less than 10 years almost everything that matters to us will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not,” he asserted.
“From the blood pressure medications we take, to the movies we can watch, and everything in between, we will depend on China for it,” the senator added.
“Bold diplomacy”
According to Marco Rubio, to prevent an invasion of Taiwan by China, the United States must show Beijing that the price to pay would be “too high”.
“Unless there is a dramatic change,” the world will face this problem “before the end of the decade,” he said.
PHOTO ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Marco Rubio, the head of diplomacy designated by Donald Trump
Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Marco Rubio is known for his hostile positions against China and Iran, and for his unwavering support for Israel.
If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Marco Rubio will lead the world’s leading diplomatic network, with more than 55,000 employees, and will be the face of America abroad.
Even before taking office on January 20, Donald Trump is already shaking up the international order by mistreating the allies of the United States.
He has already threatened to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but also the Panama Canal, control of which was ceded by the United States two decades ago.
The war in Ukraine is expected to be another important part of the next secretary of state’s tenure.
Since the election of Donald Trump on November 5, Europeans have feared a disengagement of the United States from this conflict, or even American pressure for an agreement to the detriment of Kyiv.
During his hearing Wednesday, Marco Rubio called for “bold diplomacy” from the United States to end the war led by Russia.
Ukraine’s main problem, he said, is not that it is “running out of money, but rather that it is running out of Ukrainians.”
“Unrealistic”
“The truth is that in this conflict, there is no way Russia can take over all of Ukraine,” the senator added.
But “it is also unrealistic to believe that a nation the size of Ukraine, however competent it may be (…), could push these people back to where they were the day before the invasion” in 2022, added Marco Rubio.
According to him, “the role of the United States and NATO in the 21e century” must also be questioned, following on from the statements of Donald Trump, who threatened to no longer guarantee the protection of NATO countries against Russia if they did not devote a sufficient budget to their defense.
The senator said it was important for the United States to have “not just defense allies” but “competent defense allies who can defend their region.”
In the United States, the Constitution requires that appointments of secretaries and other senior officials be confirmed by a vote in the Senate, after a hearing in the committee responsible for the position in question.
Other hearings besides that of Marco Rubio are taking place on Wednesday in the Senate, notably that of Pam Bondi, chosen by Donald Trump to head the Department of Justice.
