Marco Rubio Warns China Is America's 'Biggest Threat'

Washington. Florida Senator Marco Rubio on Wednesday painted a dark vision of the consequences of America's “unbalanced relationship” with China, echoing President-elect Donald Trump's anti-globalist rhetoric as he vies to be confirmed as his secretary of state.
While touching on issues plaguing the Middle East, Latin America and eastern Europe, Rubio focused much of his five-hour Senate confirmation hearing warning that without swift and substantive policy shifts, China will remain the “biggest threat” to American prosperity in the 21st Century.
“If we don’t change course, we are going to live in a world where much of what 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,” Rubio testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Asked about NATO, the 75-year-old security organization that Trump has repeatedly criticized, Rubio affirmed its value, calling it a “very important alliance.” But Rubio endorsed Trump's view that some European allies should be contributing more to their collective defense, adding that the US must decide whether it wants “a primary defense role" or to be a "backstop” against aggression.
The 53-year-old Republican made the case against China and other US adversaries to his colleagues on the Foreign Relations panel where he served for 14 years. He received a warm welcome from both sides of the aisle, making jokes about how “surreal” it was to be on the other side of the dais.
"I hope I can earn your support, whether it’s because you believe I would do a good job, or because you want to get rid of me,” Rubio joked as part of his opening statement.
But in between the niceties, Rubio blamed America's vulnerability to China on the shift to globalism, which he says “is now a weapon being used against us.” He said the US must begin placing “our core national interests above all else."
It's a remarkable opening salvo from Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants and who, if confirmed, would become the first Latino to serve as the nation’s top diplomat.
The confirmation hearing begins a new chapter in the political career of the third-term senator, whose relationship with Trump has evolved over the last decade. Once rivals trading schoolyard insults as they campaigned for president in 2016, the two men became close allies as Trump campaigned for another White House term last year.
Rubio first came to Washington as part of the “tea party” wave in 2010 and once advocated for allowing a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally. But like other Republicans, Rubio's views on immigration have shifted toward the hardline stance of Trump, who has pledged to aggressively pursue deportations once he takes office on Monday.
Unlike many of Trump's Cabinet selections, Rubio is expected to easily win confirmation, notching support not only from Republicans but also Democrats who endorse him as a “responsible” pick to represent the US abroad. Many expect he will be among the first of Trump's Cabinet picks approved.
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who served alongside Rubio on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he has high hopes that the Florida Republican will reject the isolationist approach of other Trump allies.
“I think Marco is a hawk, but he’s also an internationalist, and I think the challenge for him will be to maintain the long bipartisan tradition of America being indispensable in world affairs," the Hawaii lawmaker told The Associated Press. "And there are people in the Trump world who want us to run away from being the leaders of the free world. And I’m hoping that Marco’s instincts towards American strength will win the day.”
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