Raja Krishnamoorthi on China's Export Coercion and 'Freedom Wine'

China's Use of Economic Coercion

• 🍷 Australian wine became known as 'freedom wine' after China banned it in 2020 for Australia's call for a COVID investigation.
• 🍍 Similarly, Taiwan's pineapples were banned by China after Australia's wine ban, but Japan's sales of these pineapples subsequently increased.
• 🇯🇵 Following a US-Japan-South Korea summit, China banned Japanese seafood, citing fabricated food safety concerns to punish Japan.
• 🇳🇴 After China banned Norway's salmon due to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a Chinese dissident, Norway capitulated, prioritizing bilateral relations over supporting democratic values.

Strategic Supply Chains and Resilience

• 💎 China dominates rare earth minerals, with the US having only one operational mine, highlighting a critical vulnerability.
• 💰 The US Department of Defense is investing in MP Materials, the sole US rare earth mine, to boost magnet production and secure a supply chain.
• 🗺️ There's a call for the US administration and private sector to create resilient domestic supply chains by investing in critical industries.
• 📊 A strategic review of economic vulnerabilities and opportunities, similar to national security reviews, is proposed for the White House's National Economic Council.

International Cooperation Against Coercion

• 🤝 The concept of 'join or die' is used to illustrate the need for America and its allies (Australia, Taiwan, Japan) to cooperate against Chinese coercion.
• 🐍 This strategy mirrors the 'Join, or Die' imagery from the American Revolution, emphasizing that united action is necessary to counter threats.
• 🌍 Ambassador Emanuel's remarks highlight the importance of friends and partners banding together to fight bans and coercion by China, rather than facing them alone.