Future Perspectives on the U.S.-China Power Competition | Mainstage

Given China’s increasingly belligerent geopolitical moves, Rick Scott, U.S. Senator, R-Florida, stressed the importance of a strong U.S. response. Senator Scott explained his position about strategic decoupling from China. Scott said that when companies do business with China, they are tacitly supporting the Chinese government’s positions vis-a-vis human rights and political expression. 

Ambassador Paula Dobriansky asked Senator Scott to describe his position on Taiwan. The Senator explained that the U.S. and international community should support and defend Taiwan because it shares values with other democracies. Scott also explored the idea that the 2022 Olympic Games should be moved away from China, given concerns about human rights and freedom of expression in the country. In his view, the Olympic values are incompatible with some of the actions undertaken by the Chinese Communist Party.

• China is and will remain the primary geopolitical threat to the U.S. and allies. We must decide how much to engage with and how best to counter China’s ascendance.
• Western businesses must understand that doing business with China equals tacit support for its political and human rights abuses.