Marco Rubio says that China is a threat, confirms the value of NATO

WASHINGTON (AP) – Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday painted a dark vision of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China, echoing the president-elect Donald Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric that he is vying to be confirmed as his foreign minister.

Touching on issues plaguing the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe, Rubio focused much of his five-hour Senate confirmation hearing on warning that without quick and significant policy changes, China will remain the “biggest threat” to American prosperity in the 21st century.

“If we don’t change course, we’re going to live in a world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis, from our safety to our health, will depend on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not .” Rubio testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

asked about NATOthe 75-year-old security organization that Trump has repeatedly criticized, Rubio affirmed its value, calling it a “very important alliance.” But Rubio supported Trump’s view that some European allies should contribute more to their collective defense, adding that the United States must decide whether it wants “a primary defense role” or to be a “backstop” against aggression.

The 53-year-old Republican brought 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 and made jokes about how “surreal” it was to be on the other side of the podium.

“I hope I can earn your support, whether it’s because you think I’d do a good job or because you want to get rid of me,” Rubio joked as part of his opening statement.

But amid the niceties, Rubio blamed America’s vulnerability to China for the shift to globalism, which he says “is now a weapon being used against us.” He said the United States must start putting “our core national interests above everything 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 country’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 past decade. Once rivals trading schoolyard insults while campaigning for president in 2016, the two men became close allies as Trump campaigned for another term in the White House last year.

Rubio first came to Washington as part of the “tea party” wave in 2010 and once advocated allowing a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally. But like other Republicans, Rubio’s views on immigration have shifted toward the hard line of Trump, who has promised to aggressively pursue deportations when he takes office on Monday.

Unlike many of Trump’s cabinet picksRubio is expected to easily win confirmation and garner support not only from Republicans but also from Democrats who support him as a “responsible” choice to represent the United States abroad. Many expect him to be among the first of Trump’s approved cabinet picks.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who served with Rubio on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he has high hopes 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 said to The Associated Press. “And there are people in Trump world who want us to run away from being the leaders of the free world. And I hope Marco’s instincts against American strength will win the day.”

Rubio’s approach to foreign affairs is based on his years of service on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Intelligence Panel. In his speeches and writings he has given increasingly stern warnings about growing military and economic threats to the United States.

If confirmed, Rubio will become the head of US foreign policy – although his role will certainly remain secondary to Trump, who enjoys the global stage and often uses the bully pulpit against US allies.

Even before taking office, Trump has sparked anxiety in foreign capitals by threatening to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland and suggesting he will push Canada to become the nation’s 51st state.

When asked about the channel Wednesday, Rubio testified that while he hasn’t “looked at the legal research,” he “has to suspect that an argument could be made that the conditions under which the channel was converted, has been violated.”

But he added that “Panama is a great partner on a lot of other issues and I hope we can resolve this issue.”

A Biden administration decision to revoke Cuba’s nomination as a state sponsor of terrorism with just days left in office is likely to have irked Rubio, who has long supported tough sanctions on the communist-run island.

On questions from Sen. Ted CruzTexas Republican if he thought Cuba should have stayed on the list, Rubio replied: “without a question.” He also indicated that the new administration would reverse the Biden administration’s plans to remove Cuba from the list of sponsors of terrorism.

“Nothing that the Biden administration has agreed to in the last 12 or 18 hours is binding on the next administration, which starts on Monday,” Rubio said.

Secretaries of state have played a key role in formulating the nation’s foreign policy since its founding, beginning with the first, Thomas Jefferson, who served in the top cabinet position under President George Washington.

Since then, Jefferson, as well as his 19th-century successors James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, and James Buchanan, have all gone on to be elected president.

More recent secretaries of state have been less successful in their political ambitions, including John Kerry, who lost the 2004 presidential election to President George W. Bush before becoming a top diplomat, and Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to Trump.

The most successful secretaries of state have been known for their closeness to the presidents they serve, notably James Baker under George HW Bush, Condoleezza Rice under George W. Bush, and to some extent Clinton under George W. Bush. Barack Obama.

Like Clinton, Rubio was once a political rival of the president-elect who nominated them. However, the Clinton-Obama relationship in the 2008 Democratic primaries was not nearly as hostile as that between Trump and Rubio in the 2016 GOP primaries, which was marked by name-calling and personal insults.

Trump had a bitter relationship with his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. Trump fired him from the position via a social media post less than two years into his tenure.

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Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.