Biden says ‘I’m not concerned about China’ at rare press conference, is immediately slammed by GOP
By Steven Nelson
April 26, 2023 4:06pmWASHINGTON — President Biden turned heads Wednesday by declaring “I’m not concerned about China” during a rare White House news conference — drawing quick condemnation from Republican critics.
Biden made the remark when asked about US efforts to spur domestic manufacturing with last year’s $280 billion bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which was passed to counter growing Chinese dominance of the semiconductor sector.
“My desire to increase US manufacturing and jobs in America is not about China,” Biden said at a Rose Garden press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. “I’m not concerned about China.”
The CHIPS and Science Act “wasn’t designed to hurt China,” the president went on. “It was designed so we didn’t have to worry about whether or not we had access to semiconductors.”
Congressional supporters of the bill explicitly cited China as the reason for its existence last year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for example, described it as part of a broader effort to “outcompete China.”
Biden’s remark, made at his first domestic press conference of 2023, drew swift criticism from Republicans.
“We know this. That’s the problem,” tweeted Michele Perez Exner, an aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“This is who House Democrats support for President. No wonder they are unable tell you ‘why’ they support him,” wrote Will Reinert, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
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https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/biden-says-im-not-concerned-about-china-at-press-conference/
