Youngkin blasts Biden's 'weak' China strategy: 'I don't call that leadership'

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin calls out Biden for lack of leadership: 'He is a follower'

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin discusses the China threat, President Biden’s visit to his state and the 2024 election.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., believes President Biden has a "weak" strategy in leading the U.S. in the "race to win the future of the globe" against China.

Youngkin was asked what the relationship between Beijing and Washington should look like during an appearance on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" Wednesday. 

"We first have to identify the fact that the Chinese government's role is to dominate the world and do it at the expense of the United States," Youngkin said.

"We're seeing bipartisan support for that view. But unfortunately the Democrats tend to pull up short. When it gets difficult, then they comprise. And we have to have unity on this point. Even Chuck Schumer said it the other day," the governor continued. "That's big stop number one is that this is not a friendly rivalry. This is in fact a race to win the future of the globe. And China's trying to do it at the expense of the United States."

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said that "the Chinese government's role is to dominate the world and do it at the expense of the United States." (Al Drago)

Youngkin pointed to TikTok, the company owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which the Biden administration recently began to take action against after Virginia and other states implemented their own bans. 

"I don't call that leadership, I call it following," Youngkin said.

Republicans and Democrats on the House China Select Committee held their first hearing Tuesday night, when they discussed the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to the United States.

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The House hearing, titled "The Chinese Communist Party’s Threat to America," sought to address some of the issues raised by Republicans in all chambers of the government, including the Virginia governor.

"What that means is, we cannot be weak. And what the Biden administration has been at every step along with way with China is weak," he urged.

A protester interrupts H.R. McMaster, former national security adviser to former President Trump, as testifies during a hearing of a special House committee dedicated to countering China, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. At right is Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser to former President Trump. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

"Finally, we have to recognize is that the most coercive step of the Chinese government is through economic imperialism," the governor said. "In the last five years they have fundamentally shifted, and they are projecting their communist ideology through economics around the world. And we've got to recognize this and stand up for those most trusted industries that we know are the future of the United States."

Youngkin discussed how America's industries, such as semiconductors and supply chains, must be protected, and the government must "make sure we have trusted supply chains that are American owned, American dominated, or with trusted international partners."

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said President Biden has been "weak" in relations with China. (Anna Moneymaker)

"It's been clear China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, these aren't trusted international partners, so we have to make sure they aren't part of our supply chains," he stated.

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Youngkin's comments comes after the Energy Department and FBI director concluded that COVID-19 likely spread after the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, and just weeks after the Biden administration decided to not immediately shoot down a Chinese spy balloon floating across the United States.