Marco Rubio warns China is America’s ‘biggest threat,’ affirms value of NATO alliance

WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday painted a dark vision of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China, echoing President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric as he vies to be confirmed as his secretary of state.

While touching on issues plaguing the Middle East, Latin America and eastern Europe, Rubio focused much of his five-hour Senate confirmation hearing warning that without swift and substantive policy shifts, China will remain the “biggest threat” to American prosperity in the 21st Century.

“If we don’t change course, we are going to live in the world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis from our security to our health will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not,” Rubio testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Asked about NATO, the 75-year-old security organization that Trump has repeatedly criticized, Rubio affirmed its value, calling it a “very important alliance.” But Rubio endorsed Trump’s view that some European allies should be contributing more to their collective defense, adding that the U.S. must decide whether it wants “a primary defense role” or to be a “backstop” against aggression.

The 53-year-old Republican made the case against China and other U.S. adversaries to his colleagues on the Foreign Relations panel where he served for 14 years. He received a warm welcome from both sides of the aisle, making jokes about how “surreal” it was to be on the other side of the dais.

“I hope I can earn your support, whether it’s because you believe I would do a good job, or because you want to get rid of me,” Rubio joked as part of his opening statement.

But in between the niceties, Rubio blamed America’s vulnerability to China on the shift to globalism, which he says “is now a weapon being used against us.” He said the U.S. must begin placing “our core national interests above all else.”

It’s a remarkable opening salvo from Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants and who, if confirmed, would become the first Latino to serve as the nation’s top diplomat.

The confirmation hearing begins a new chapter in the political career of the third-term senator, whose relationship with Trump has evolved over the last decade. Once rivals trading schoolyard insults as they campaigned for president in 2016, the two men became close allies as Trump campaigned for another White House term last year.