Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke with Maria Bartiromo in her show, "Mornings With Maria Bartiromo," on Tuesday and highlighted the critical need to secure supply chains with Asian countries for economic and national security futures. He emphasized the threat of China's domination and underscored the importance of robust supply chains to counter China's economic coercion. During his recent trade trip to Asia, Youngkin focused on securing supply chains and bringing them to Virginia.
MARIA BARTIROMO: And joining me right now to talk more about that in this exclusive interview is Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Governor, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for having me. It's fun to be with you this morning.
GLENN YOUNGKIN: Yes. Right back at you.
MARIA BARTIROMO: You just returned from an international trade trip. You visited Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, trying to strengthen our supply chain relationships that are not China-dependent. You just heard Michael McCall, chairman of the foreign affairs committee. Your thoughts on this issue.
GLENN YOUNGKIN: If China invades Taiwan, they can turn it all off on the world. Well, we know what China is trying to do, and that is to dominate the world. And they're going to use every arrow in their quiver, from surveillance balloons to TikTok, to intellectual property theft, to economic coercion, and to saber rattling, if not more.
We need to wake up and recognize that particularly in these most important sectors semiconductors, the supply chain for pharmaceuticals, supply chains for automotive, and for wind turbines, and for solar panels.
We have now decided, at least our President has, that he's going to drive us into these industries. We have to secure supply chains for these with our friends. And that's why when I was in Taiwan and Japan and Korea, this is what I was speaking with both their political leaders and their business leaders about bringing those supply chains not just to America but to Virginia.
Virginia has been number one in so many polls for business, and it's time for us to get some of these supply chains into the commonwealth. I was excited about what I heard, but I was also very, very comforted by the unity, the unity that political leaders and business leaders in these countries at risk because of the China threat, want to strengthen relationships in the US.
And make sure these supply chains are robust, and we have a shared economic future. Well, did you get a sense that those leaders in those countries understand the threat of communist China? I mean, governors have stepped up.
MARIA BARTIROMO: You were among the first to come out publicly. We will not allow China to acquire land in Virginia. It's off-limits. CCP, what did you get from the leaders that you spoke with?
GLENN YOUNGKIN: There is no lack of clarity at the threat, and that's why they are moving so quickly. We see the Japanese Prime Minister doubling their national defense budget. We see that all of a sudden, the Korean leaders are forming alliances with Japan and the Philippines and Australia and the United States in order to tighten these relationships.
And then finally, of course, in Taiwan, President Tsai got a steel back, and she is clear that she's not only working for their economic future but for their future. And it's these relationships that are so important to continue to foster and strengthen.
At the end of the day, the United States has to be strong here. And this is, I think, one of the biggest challenges that our allies have had is that the Biden administration has projected weakness. And as a result, they, in fact, don't quite know how they're going to react.
And this is why these economic ties, and particularly to bring the semiconductor supply chain, the pharmaceutical supply chain, the automotive supply chain into the United States. So it's trusted. I want it to come to Virginia, I think will be a great home to a lot of it.
But this is critical, not just for our economic future, but for our national security future.
