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Floor Speech
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Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, the United States and China should talk. The United States wants to, but the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party--the CCP--does not. And, frankly, the leadership of the CCP is acting like a sullen teenager. You can only be young once, but you can always be immature.
Talking does not show weakness. It shows strength. It shows confidence. America is confident. In refusing to talk, the Chinese Communist Party and its insecurities are loud.
Now, the United States, as you know from recent media reports, has tried to talk to China, and we have had some success. Recently, not that long ago, our National Security Advisor and our Commerce Secretary met with their Chinese counterparts. I understand they had good discussions.
I had hoped that that might be a start, but I was wrong. The CCP proved me wrong. For instance, our Defense Secretary, the weekend before last, I believe, was at the annual Singapore Security Conference. Our Defense Secretary asked to meet with Chinese defense officials, a fairly routine request.
The defense officials from China snubbed it.
Further, on May 26--you may have read about this in the media--a Chinese fighter jet flew within 400 yards of a U.S. reconnaissance plane flying above the South China Sea in international waters--in international waters. The U.S. plane had to fly threw the Chinese fighter jet's wake, which is very dangerous. It was an unmistakable attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to intimidate.
Further still, just this past weekend, a Chinese naval ship came within 150 yards of a U.S. missile destroyer, yet another intentional and dangerous act. The U.S. ship was in the Taiwan Strait along with a Canadian warship. Both the U.S. ship and the Canadian ship had every right to be there. This was another unmistakable attempt by China to intimidate.
Additionally, hardly a day goes by that the CCP doesn't release a statement denigrating the American people and accusing the United States of wanting to suppress and even destroy China.
Let me be clear. The United States of America does not want to suppress China. The United States of America does not want to destroy China. All we want is for China to become and to act like a responsible member of a stable world order that follows international rules and norms. And that is all the world wants too.
All we want and all the world wants is for China to stop its aggression. All we want and all the world wants is for China to stop manipulating its currency.
All we want and all the world wants is for China to leave Taiwan alone. All we want and all the world wants is for China to end its attempt to militarize the South China Sea and the East China Sea, which are international waters.
All we want and all the world wants is for China to stop poisoning our children with fentanyl. Stop it.
All we want and all the world wants is for China to end its ``debt trap'' diplomacy through its Belt and Road Initiative and other loan schemes.
All we want and all the world wants is for China to cease using its economic power to bully other sovereign countries--like Australia, like Lithuania--when those countries offer an opinion the Communist Party of China doesn't like.
All we want and all the world wants is for China to tell us the truth--the truth--about how the COVID virus started, or at least work with us and other countries so we can find out.
I could, of course, continue this list, but I won't.
So let me repeat. The United States and China should talk. The advantages are and ought to be obvious.
Why should we talk? To avoid military conflict. It is a pretty good start. To avoid miscalculation. The more silence there is between us, the more Beijing underestimates American strength.
Why should we talk? To limit the risk of accidental confrontation, to pursue bilateral detente, because our economies are interwoven, because our economies are stronger together if everyone plays by the rules.
Why should we talk? To seek peace in Ukraine; to develop a mutual plan for how we should respond to advancements in technology, like artificial intelligence, like quantum computing; to talk about space; to discuss fair trade policies for products that don't have national security implications.
Why should we talk? To prepare for the next pandemic--it is just a thought--to develop cheaper and cleaner energy, to avoid nuclear war, to avoid destroying the human race.
Look, if China doesn't want to talk, that would be a shame. But it is hard to fix somebody who doesn't want to be fixed. It would also be China's loss. It would be China's loss not to talk.
For years, China has tried to portray itself to the world as mighty, as successful, as peace-loving. And I hope someday China is all of those things.
China, for years, has tried to portray itself to the world as a gentle giant. For a while, it worked. It worked until it didn't. The world now sees a different China. The world now sees a China that mismanaged COVID, that is on the wrong side of the Ukraine war, that is destroying Hong Kong, that has militarized the South and East China Seas.
The world now sees a China that punishes its own people--the Uighurs and the good people of Tibet--that denies even the most basic civil rights to its Han Chinese majority, including the right to self- determine, including the right even to access an uncensored internet.
The world sees a China that tries to bully other sovereign countries.
The world now sees a China whose population is shrinking, whose people are aging without a safety net for its elderly, whose young, college-educated children can't find a job, whose housing market is in turmoil.
The world now sees a China whose debt is unmanageable, whose technology sector has been purposely, intentionally stunted by its own political leadership.
The world now sees a China whose capital markets are flailing, whose state-owned entities are models of inefficiency and corruption, and whose economy is slowing.
I know that is a cold dish of truth, but that is what the world sees. If China cares about the world and if the people of China care about how the world sees China--and both do--China will reengage with the world, including the United States of America, not shrink from it.
So I end, Madam President, as I began. The United States and China need to talk. The United States and China need to talk, not just for the United States but also for China and for the world. And, frankly, China has the most to gain, given the deterioration of its reputation.
But it is entirely up to China. America, we have done our part, and the United States will continue to do its part. We want to talk. We are confident, but, lately, China's insecurities are loud.
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