“We cannot deter China in this state of industrial atrophy,” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., declared on Tuesday at the fifth National Conservatism Conference in Washington.
The West Virginia lawmaker, who some see as a rising star in the Republican Party, outlined how it would take U.S. reindustrialization to credibly deter China in an age of uncertainty about the fate of Taiwan and threats across the globe.
Moore detailed the current advantages the Chinese Communist Party has over the United States.
“China produces more than half of the world’s steel, fueling its infrastructure and military. We’ve let our steel industry atrophy, importing from abroad, while our steel mills rust. This is not just an economic failure. It’s a strategic one,” Moore said.
He also noted the strategic vulnerability of America in its reliance on importing semiconductor chips from abroad.
“These chips power everything from smartphones to missile systems. Yet the U.S. produces less than 12% of the world’s supply, while Taiwan’s TSMC dominates. If China invades Taiwan, our military and domestic economy will grind to a halt,” Moore explained.
The West Virginia legislator elaborated on how even American pharmaceuticals rely on Chinese production.
“Our nearly complete dependence on China to supply more than 80% of the active ingredients in pharmaceuticals gives them serious leverage,” he said, adding:
China’s ability to wield our industrial weakness against us decreases our credible deterrence over Taiwan and increases the odds of China invading.
“Are we going to come to Taiwan’s aid if it means that pharmacy shelves across America are suddenly empty? This answer is vital to China’s calculation of whether to invade Taiwan,” he added.
Moore then laid out what it would take to rebuild the American industrial base and restore American strength.
“Deterrence is a framework for grappling with those choices. It is a commitment to focusing our energies, rebuilding our industrial might, and unleashing the energy to power a 21st-century industrial base. It’s a rejection of overreach in favor of strength of focus instead of distraction,” he said.
In particular, the congressman emphasized the need to expand America’s energy production to power American manufacturing.
“For the first time in my lifetime, a president took a stand for coal, signing executive orders promoting domestic coal production. But we need to go further. We must become a global juggernaut with an ‘all of the below the ground‘ approach to energy. Coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear must power our path to energy dominance,” Moore said.
Moore also joined Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts on Tuesday in praising longtime conservative stalwart Pat Buchanan, an assistant to three Republican presidents and a three-time candidate for president himself, for his prescience on the current issues facing the United States.
“Buchanan was right about pretty much everything, 20 years before anyone even realized it, including his recognition that Iraq was not in alignment with our strategic national interests,” the West Virginian contended, noting that he had sent a letter to President Donald Trump recommending Buchanan, now 86, for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“America will build again, power again, and deter again. Not everywhere. Not always. But where it matters most, with a strength that none can match,” Moore concluded.