By Patricia Zengerle, Simon Louis (Joe:) Doina Chiacu and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, warned on Wednesday that the United States must change course to avoid becoming more dependent on China, promising a strong foreign policy focused on American interests.
The comments of the Republican senator, who is expected to be easily confirmed as the head of American diplomacy, sent a stark message about changes in American policy.
Rubio (53 years old) addressed major international issues in a friendly hearing before the committee on which he served for 14 years. He said ending the war in Ukraine was necessary as both sides had to make concessions, but he spoke more forcefully about the need to confront China. Rubio's nomination is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate on January 20, the day Trump is inaugurated for a second term.
Rubio said that confronting China will include building American domestic industrial capacity.
“If we stay on the path we are on now, in less than 10 years, almost everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether or not China will let us have it,” Rubio said. “For the films we will watch, and everything in between, we will depend on China for that.”
“This is an unacceptable outcome.”
The outgoing Biden administration took measures to block China's access to semiconductor technology and maintained some policies toward China from Trump's first term, but Trump said he would impose more tariffs on Chinese goods.
Rubio has long been one of the most prominent advocates in Congress for a stronger China policy. His support for democracy protesters in Hong Kong led to Chinese sanctions being imposed on him in 2020, meaning he could be the first foreign minister under active Chinese travel restrictions.
He also said Washington should help the self-ruled island of Taiwan with a so-called porcupine strategy to discourage invasion by making it difficult for China to attack.
Rubio said that unless Washington makes “dramatic” changes, it will have to deal with the possibility of a “catastrophic military intervention” in the Indo-Pacific region before the end of the decade.
“We need to recognize the fact that unless something radical changes, like the balance where they conclude that the costs of intervention in Taiwan are too high, we are going to have to deal with this before the end of this decade,” Rubio said.
The world is in chaos
In his opening remarks, Rubio said he sees a world in chaos where order will not be easy to restore.
“It will be impossible without a strong, confident America that engages in the world and once again puts our core national interests above all else,” Rubio said.
Rubio, the son of immigrants from Cuba, will be the first person of Hispanic origin to hold the position of America's top diplomat.
He also said that strong American support for Israel would continue. “I'm confident in saying that President Trump's administration will remain perhaps the most pro-Israel administration in American history,” he told senators learning of the Gaza ceasefire agreement during the five-hour hearing.
Senators from both parties praised his nomination.
“You've got one of the toughest jobs in America. But after serving with you for so many years, I'm confident you're the right person. We need to confront these threats.”
said Sen. Jim Risch, the committee's Republican chairman.
“I believe you have the good skills and qualifications to serve as Secretary of State,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on Foreign Relations.
Rubio's friendly hearing contrasted sharply with questioning of some of Trump's other nominees, such as former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation hearing on Tuesday focused on culture war issues, not international politics.
Ukraine war
Some of Trump's core supporters had viewed Rubio as inconsistent with Trump's “America First” approach to government. Rubio was a rival to Trump in the race to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
But his views have recently come to align more closely with those of the party leader.
Last year, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators who voted against a large military aid package to help Ukraine resist Russia, after voting in favor of the aid in 2022. Trump has criticized Democratic President Joe Biden's military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. Rubio said he voted against the legislation because it did not include money to address cross-border migration with Mexico, a major concern for Trump.
Rubio said it should be US policy that the war should end, and said reaching an agreement to stop the fighting would require concessions from both Moscow and Kiev, suggesting Ukraine would have to abandon its goal of regaining all the territory it seized. Moscow in Ukraine. last decade.
“I think it's important that the Ukrainians have leverage, but they're also going to have to make concessions to get to this agreement,” Rubio said.
