Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin forcefully spoke out Sunday about China’s use of “Trojan horse relationships” to infiltrate the U.S. economic supply chain.
Youngkin in January pulled his state out of the running for a new Ford electric vehicle battery factory because of ties to communist China. He criticized efforts by the regime that include prominent U.S. manufacturers such as Ford.
The governor told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that Beijing “has one goal, world domination, and to do it at the expense of the United States.” He said the country is “using every avenue possible,” and he listed military advancement, spy balloons, and TikTok as examples.
Virginia, he declared, will not be part of achieving China’s goals.
Youngkin asserted on Sunday that Beijing’s aggression towards the U.S. supply chain has been ongoing for years. He pointed towards 2016’s demand by Chinese communists that General Motors sever their relationship with a South Korean battery manufacturer.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday touted a recent decision to withdraw his state from the running for a $3.5 billion Ford electric vehicle-battery plant because of its involvement with a Chinese-based company as GOP governors look to combat the… https://t.co/cEwIN3NHPS
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 26, 2023
Youngkin was also critical of the Biden White House for facilitating China’s advances. He urged political and economic leaders along with U.S. citizens to be aware that liberals will only stand up to China to a point.
When that stand results in harm to the “green” agenda or Chinese money flowing into American universities, they will promptly back down.
One aspect of Chinese aggression in the U.S. that drew recent fire is the practice of buying up farmland, particularly near military installations. Youngkin said his state is taking a stand to stop this practice.
He noted a bipartisan bill that he pledged to sign to prevent Chinese companies and investors from buying agricultural farmland. Youngkin paid particular attention to land near “our nationally strategic assets like the Pentagon and Quantico and the largest naval base in the world.”
The Republican said it is America’s duty to maintain the safety of these assets.
In February, Virginia legislators approved a bill to prohibit the sale of agricultural land to “foreign adversaries,” which of course was targeted at China.
The Department of Agriculture recently reported that Chinese firms or private citizens own roughly 14,000 acres of Virginia agricultural land. It is believed that foreign adversaries own approximately 1.6 million acres of American farmland.
