Kelly, Coons, Schumer, Murray, Shaheen, Reed, Warner, Schatz, Kaine, Duckworth, Bennet, Slotkin, and Kim Release Joint Statement Raising the Alarm on President Trump’s Steep Concessions to Beijing
Today, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Coons (D-DL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) released the following statement after reporting that Trump is pausing export controls on technology sold to China as part of an effort to secure a trade deal with Beijing:
“President Trump has spent the last six months eroding our advantages over China, but this week’s developments make clear how willing his administration is to sacrifice American economic and technological leadership for symbolic “wins” with China in its self-inflicted trade war.
“In the face of lackluster domestic economic forecasts and anemic interest from Beijing in achieving a real breakthrough in talks, Trump and his economic team have ceded leverage and negotiating power to Beijing in a desperate attempt to lure President Xi to a meeting with Trump. Even more dangerously, they risk putting American national security, technological advantage, and economic prosperity on the chopping block in order to do so.
“President Trump is handing our primary geopolitical adversary the keys to the castle of 21st century global technological dominance. Doing so will enable growing Chinese leadership in artificial intelligence, infusing the Chinese military with the technological advantage it needs to continue hostile operations across the globe. He will be signaling his ambivalence about standing with Taiwan, our long-term partner in the region and a powerhouse of the global economy. And he will be emboldening Beijing to take aggressive actions and seek even more aggressive concessions in whatever trade negotiations may follow.
“President Trump and this administration must reset their dangerously weak approach to China and make clear they will no longer accept symbolic wins in exchange for steep American concessions. An administration convinced it can renegotiate the world order needs to stop negotiating against itself.”
Background:
In just the last day, we have seen reports that raise questions about whether the Trump administration has “postponed” a long-planned security dialogue with Taiwan and denied the President of Taiwan the ability to transit the United States—a longstanding tradition respected by administrations of both parties. These developments come right on the heels of a decision to pave the way for the sale of advanced AI chips to China and to freeze export controls on additional American technologies enabling them to now flow to China, even as Beijing tightens export controls on the United States. Independent media reports today suggest these moves are an attempt to secure trade concessions and ensure President Trump gets a lavish visit to China to curry favor with Xi Jinping. The President is demonstrating to Beijing that he can be cajoled, bullied, and flattered into giving up America’s core interests.
