On Thursday, writing in National Review, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) blasted former Vice President Joe Biden for his consistent support for Communist China; the title alone was a withering attack, stating, “Joe Biden Is China’s Choice for President.”
Cotton began by noting, “The Democratic Party has always been weak on national security when it comes to China. But some credit is due when it comes to China’s atrocious human-rights record and its theft of American jobs. For a generation, prominent Democrats loudly criticized Beijing on these fronts … Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi have been longstanding China trade hawks, for instance. Even a socialist like Bernie Sanders has been a reliable critic.”
Then Cotton turned his sights on Biden, “Despite the occasional box-checking, wishy-washy comment slapping Beijing on the wrist for the worst of its abuses, the reality is that the former vice president’s support of the People’s Republic of China is deep and longstanding.”
Cotton listed Biden’s actions that buttressed his attack: Biden had shot down opposition to granting China most-favored-nation trade status and World Trade Organization membership in the 1990s when Biden served as the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Biden’s support for Chinese president Xi Jinping as he seized absolute power as Biden “continued to push for closer ties and even more trade,” while millions of American jobs were being lost, and most closely of all, circumstances surrounding Hunter Biden.
Cotton wrote sardonically, “… Hunter Biden, Biden’s prodigal son, accompanied him on a trip to Beijing in 2013. That same year, Hunter joined the board of a Shanghai-based private equity firm. In 2017, a few months after his father left office, he invested a substantial chunk of his own money in the company. We don’t know what he’s made off the deal, but I expect Hunter is doing better than laid-off workers in Arkansas or Delaware. Must be nice.”
Cotton points out how the vacillations in China’s actions have reflected whether Biden’s star was waxing or waning:
Biden’s announcement of his campaign alone was enough to encourage Beijing suddenly to take a harder line on trade negotiations with the Trump administration. As Biden’s star seemed to fade, China suddenly got easier to deal with, striking a “Phase 1” deal with us in January. It’s a safe prediction that they are about to take a tougher line again.
Cotton notes Biden’s fawning attitude toward China, referencing Biden saying, “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. They’re not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They’re not competition for us.” And, “Our workers are literally three times as productive as workers . . . in Asia. So what are we worried about?”
Cotton continues, “I’ve worked extensively with Democrats on China — with Chuck Schumer on cracking down on Chinese fentanyl trafficking, with Chris Van Hollen and numerous others on Huawei’s threat to the world’s telecommunications infrastructure. I don’t exactly hear Biden hammering on these important issues on the campaign trail.”
He rips Biden for referring to President Trump’s decision to impose travel restrictions on China as “hysterical xenophobia.” Then he points out the hypocrisy of Democrats, writing, “Since 2015, Democrats have claimed hysterically that Donald Trump is a Russian agent. On the other hand, it’s ridiculous to say Biden is a Chinese asset — if he were, his handler would tell him to oppose China here and there to build credibility. But China can count on Joe Biden always to take China’s side.”
He bluntly concludes, “The competition between the United States and China, strategic and economic, will define the next century for our nation. We will need to be led by presidents for whom there’s no question as to which side they are on.”