Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) said on Fox News Sunday that China is deploying ‘trojan horse relationships’ to take over the United States’ supply chain.
Youngkin cited China’s relationship with Ford Motor Company after the governor pulled Virginia from the short-list of contenders for a new Ford electric vehicle battery plant because the factory would have used Chinese tech.
“China has one goal, world domination, and to do it at the expense of the United States,” the governor said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“They’re using every avenue possible from, yes, saber-rattling with their military to surveillance balloons and TikTok,” he continued.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday touted a recent decision to withdraw his state from the running for a $3.5 billion Ford electric vehicle-battery plant because of its involvement with a Chinese-based company as GOP governors look to combat the… https://t.co/JL75QpZ6Jj
— WashTimesLocal (@WashTimesLocal) February 27, 2023
Youngkin also said that Virginia is “standing up strong” against the Chinese communists by defending military bases in the Commonwealth, protecting Virginia farmland from CCP-linked buyers and refusing to allow China to profit off of America’s supply chain.
“We’ve got a bill now through on a bipartisan basis that I will sign that will keep China from buying our agricultural farmland, particularly next to our nationally strategic assets like the Pentagon and Quantico and the largest naval base in the world,” the Republican said.
“We’re going to keep these assets safe.”
Youngkin then brought up a stark example of China’s “economic coercion tactics,” citing the Communist Party’s efforts to force General Motors to “dump” another far east competitor back in 2016.
“They are using their economic coercion tactics in order to gain access to our supply chain, and that’s exactly what they did to General Motors back in 2016 when they demanded General Motors dump a Korean battery manufacturer,” Youngkin added. “Economic security for the United States is critical.”
Later in his sit-down with Maria Bartiromo, Youngkin was inevitably asked about the 2024 election, and the months-long rumors swirling around his potential run for the GOP nomination.
Youngkin deflected, as he typically does, saying his eyes are “on Virginia” for the foreseeable future.
“We have got a big budget to negotiate, and one of the realities in Virginia is we’ve managed well,” he said. “My eyes right now are really on Virginia, and we’ve got a lot of good work to do here.”
