WASHINGTON – United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today released the following statement on revelations that Linda Thomas-Greenfield, President’s Biden’s nominee to be Ambassador to the United Nations, praised Communist Party-ruled China and its aggressive expansion into Africa during a speech in 2019:
“It is deeply concerning to learn that Linda Thomas-Greenfield repeatedly praised autocratic China’s aggressive and troubling expansion into Africa during a 2019 speech at the Chinese government-directed Confucius Institute in Georgia.
“Contrary to Thomas-Greenfield’s claims, China does not have ‘a firm commitment to good governance, gender equity, and the rule of law’ as demonstrated by the Chinese Communist Party’s rampant corruption, genocide—including forced sterilization—against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and its merciless dictatorial rule. Despite her suggestion, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is not a force for good, but an instrument of the Chinese Communist Party’s debt-trap diplomacy, corruption-driven capture of foreign elites, and predatory economic behavior around the world.
“America needs a diplomat at the United Nations who fully comprehends the diplomatic, economic, technological, military, and moral dimensions of China’s challenge. I regret that the nominee appears to have fallen far short here.”