Vern Buchanan Urges Obama to Get Tough With China

Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio was not the only Republican to urge President Barack Obama to get tougher with China on Friday. From his perch on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., sent a letter to Obama on China on Friday. The letter is included below:

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the United States next month I urge you to stand up for America’s interests in the face of increased Chinese aggression.

Cyber-terrorism, currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and military belligerence are all areas that undermine our national interest. If we do not act now, we run the risk of ceding our global leadership role to a country only too happy to fill the void 

Specifically, Mr. President, China must alter its posture towards the U.S. in four key areas.
 
·       Intellectual property theft: According to one study, the theft of American intellectual property IP theft costs our country more than $300 billion each year – and China is responsible for up to 80 percent of these illicit activities.  Stopping this massive global crime spree could create millions of American jobs. 
 
·       Cyberterrorism: According to the National Security Agency, China has undertaken more than 600 cyberattacks against U.S. targets, including individuals, businesses and the federal government.  Moreover, press reports indicate that Chinese hackers may have been behind the attack on the Office of Personnel Management OPM earlier this year which exposed the personal information of over 20 million Americans.  This is unacceptable.
 
·       Military aggression: In recent years, China has aggressively expanded its territorial claim in the South China Sea, and has begun to challenge Japan in the East China Sea.  Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has described these steps as “destabilizing” to a region that is vital to U.S. interests – the Pentagon recently estimated that more than $1.2 trillion in U.S.-bound trade passes through the region annually. 
 
·       Currency manipulation: China’s currency manipulation is a direct threat to the American economy.  By artificially devaluing the yuan, China makes it cheaper for its companies to sell goods into the U.S., undercutting the growth of domestic businesses.  We should be doing all we can to support the growth of American companies so that they can create more good-paying jobs.  

 The United States and China are home to the world’s largest economies.  If we can work as partners, we can create unprecedented opportunities for our citizens.  But a partnership is impossible until China plays by the same rules as the U.S.