The Biden administration is failing to keep pace with China in the race to develop “strategic technologies,” according to Republican Senator Todd Young. Speaking to Fox News, Young said that the Chinese government’s failure to share American values, coupled with its ongoing theft of intellectual property, meant that the US must outcompete Beijing.
“They really threaten through their military action, our way of life and that of our friends and neighbors,” said Young. “So as long as they continue their misbehavior, we need to work with partners and allies to develop next-generation technologies, something I’ve been leading on. And make sure that we never have to fight a fair fight if we ever fight them. That’s my primary point of focus right now.”
Young, who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, gave President Biden’s administration an “incomplete” rating when it comes to its performance on the global stage.
He called on the administration to invest in American workers, so that they have the skills to out-innovate the Chinese Communist Party, and to invest in strategic technologies that will give US military personnel an advantage over their Chinese counterparts.
The senator also spoke out against the recent US-Russia prisoner swap, in which convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was exchanged for WNBA star Brittney Griner. While expressing his happiness for Griner and her family, Young criticized the deal as putting the US in a “more vulnerable position” with Russia.
“We really need to find out what happened here,” he said.
