US official urges Australia to cooperate in ‘cold war’ against China

ONE of the US Congress's main China representatives has urged Australia to help the US defeat China's Communist Party in a new "cold war".

By Melanie Kaidan, Lifestyle Reporter

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Republican Senator Rick Scott said democracies must realise that China is aiming for "world domination". The member of the Homeland Security and Armed Services Senate committees added that the Communist regime needs to be confronted directly rather than mitigated.

"Every democracy needs to stand up for what they believe in," Sen Scott told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in an interview in Washington.

"If you believe in fair trade, that's not what China believes in. If you believe in human rights, that's not what China believes in."

Mr Scott added that China is an opponent to democracies rather than a competitor.

He said: ”They believe in world domination by the Communist Party of China.

Senator Rick Scott

Senator Rick Scott urges Australia to cooperate in ‘cold war’ against China (Image: Getty)

“The way I look at it is that the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party [Xi Jinping] has made a decision to have a cold war against the United States and democracies around the world.”

Speaking of his opinion of the Chinese regime, Sen Scott said: "They don't believe in human rights. They don't believe in free trade.

“They don't believe in fair trade. They don't believe in the rule of law.

“They don't want to be a caring world citizen. They're willing to take away people's rights.

“I’m disgusted with how they treated Uighurs and how they treated Hong Kong citizens."

READ MORE: US senator stuns the BBC with China coronavirus bombshell

Senator Scott said that China is an opponent to democracies rather than a competitor

Senator Scott said that China is an opponent to democracies rather than a competitor (Image: Getty)

Mr Scott, who has been largely portrayed as a potential future Republican presidential candidate.

He served as Florida’s governor for eight years before entering the US Senate last year.

Speaking of long-established US allies such as Australia, Sen Scott said: "We ought to do this together.

“All democracies are going to have to say to themselves: are they going to continue to appease the Communist Party of China, which is clearly focused on world domination and has taken jobs from democracies all over the world and stolen technologies from all over the world?"

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The vital importance of social distancing

The vital importance of social distancing (Image: Express)

Sen Scott said that lawmakers in the US had been keeping an eye on Australia’s efforts to start an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic as well as

China’s following decree to introduce tariffs on Australian barley.

He also lauded Australia’s decision to to ban Chinese telco Huawei from its 5G rollout.

"What I admire about Australians is they will stand for their convictions," Mr Scott said.

"Australia, like America, has been working to hold China accountable. We've got to find out what happened here, why it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Image: Getty)

“I’m very appreciative of Australia's push to get the facts, live in reality and hold people accountable for their actions."

In a missive to Australia's US Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos last month, 27 US senators and members of the House of Representatives said that China had made "deeply disturbing" threats to penalise Australia for wanting an international investigation into the genesis of the pandemic.

"This incident is part of a broader and concerning pattern from the Chinese government," the bipartisan group wrote.

"One decision that is not difficult is to always stand with our Australian mates.

“No matter the external pressure or coercion, we will always have Australia’s back, just as Australia has always had ours."

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