Newt Gingrich: EXIM the key to beating China's economic-military machine

(Fox News, Washington, 22 October 2019) Republican commentator Newt Gingrich in a Fox News opinion article argues that "In the age of Huawei, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and China’s state-sponsored companies, we need the United States Export-Import Bank more than ever. This is a big deal. According to Ex-Im Bank reports, the BRI system includes about 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and impacts more than 66 percent of the world’s population. China’s Export-Import Bank alone has participated in more than 1,800 projects with a loan value in excess of $149 billion. If China links the economic might of the BRI with its military (the Communist Party-controlled People’s Liberation Army boasts 2 million troops) U.S. national security would be seriously threatened. According to Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, the country’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is absolutely a part of its military plans. One way that the Chinese Communist Party imposes its will through the BRI is through so-called debt-trap diplomacy. Compared to the United States, China is spending more, gaining more influence, and more quickly improving its economic and military positions across the globe. Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party is eroding U.S. economic influence abroad. The Ex-Im is one of our best tools to prevent this and keep America strong. Congress should reauthorize the Ex-Im bank, so we can compete against the Chinese Communist Party’s economic strategy of world domination."

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