Secretary of State Antony Blinken is sounding the alarm on China’s influence it may have over the 2024 presidential election.
During a stop in Beijing, Blinken said that the Communist country is attempting to “influence and arguably interfere” with the November election, citing evidence and a stern warning to China to abandon its effort.
“We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence and arguably interfere, and we want to make sure that that’s cut off as quickly as possible,” Blinken told CNN. “Any interference by China in our election is something that we’re looking very carefully at and is totally unacceptable to us, so I wanted to make sure that they heard that message again.”
According to a poll conducted by Tyson Group and paid for by conservative nonprofit organization Building America’s Future, most voters want the United States to crack down on China, citing national security issues.
Sixty-nine percent of respondents indicated they would support legislation that would “give China less control over our food supply by protecting a key agriculture and farming ingredient made in America.” They would also advocate for a bill that would support U.S. companies “in key industries so we are less reliant on China in the technology, pharmaceutical, and transpiration sectors.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that the U.S. has “unreasonably suppressed” the country’s rise, telling Blinken that “this is a fundamental issue that must be addressed, just like the first button of a shirt that must be put right, in order for the China-U.S. relationship to truly stabilize, improve, and move forward.”
Voters have voiced concerns over China’s influence on America’s food supply and want ingredients to be made in the U.S. rather than the communist country. Tyson Group President and CEO Ryan Tyson said that voters will lean toward candidates who aim to punish China rather than bow down to it.
Blinken on Friday said that China is a key component to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as the country is the “top supplier of machine tools, microelectronics, nitrocellulose — which is critical to making munitions and rocket propellants and other dual-use items that Moscow is using to ramp up its defense industrial base.”
“Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support,” Blinken continued.
Blinken suggested that the U.S. could impose several sanctions if China continues to equip Russia with war machine tools.
In addition, the poll found that 56 percent of respondents support an increase of oversight on companies that do business in China, with just 22 percent against it.