Former Vice President Mike Pence accused President Biden Wednesday of “rolling over to Communist China” after his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, reset the American view of Beijing.
“Americans of every political persuasion now recognize that the Chinese regime harbors adversarial intentions toward the United States and our allies,” Pence said in remarks at the Heritage Foundation, where he is a distinguished visiting fellow.
“In the wake of a devastating worldwide pandemic, compounded by Beijing’s lack of transparency, we know Chinese leaders cannot be trusted,” he added.
“Yet despite this new national consensus,” Pence went on, “the Biden-Harris administration is already rolling over to Communist China.
“They rejoined the Paris climate accord, allowing China to pollute with impunity. They rejoined the Chinese-controlled World Health Organization without demanding a single concession in the wake of failures throughout the pandemic,” he added. “And they terminated our administration’s inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, before later reversing course.”
The former vice president went on to reference recent remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding.
“The Chinese people will absolutely not allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or enslave us and anyone who attempts to do so will face broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people,” Xi said.
“There’s an old saying that weakness arouses evil,” Pence said. “And my sense is, that China senses weakness in the new administration.”
Pence went on to outline a series of steps the White House should take to confront Beijing, including cutting off funding for research at institutions like the Wuhan Institute of Virology, from where many believe the coronavirus leaked.
“When America funds scientific research in China, we become complicit in every abuse committed using the technology developed,” he said. “Under no circumstance should the United States allow public or private funding of scientific laboratories in Communist China – especially those involved in gain of function research today.”
The former vice president also called out “powerful business interests and celebrities in our own country who openly aid and abet the Communist regime.”
“Beijing has exploited modern corporate America’s insatiable appetite for market access and coerced top CEOs, athletes and entertainers into not only withholding criticism from the communist regime, but in many cases actively singing its praises,” said Pence. “American business leaders preach social justice at home, while they profit from slavery abroad. They boast of their commitment to the environment while their facilities in China blacken the skies and choke our oceans with plastic.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration restated its accusation that China is “perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity” against Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
An advisory jointly published by the Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative warned that “businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating US law.”
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