Marco Rubio previews hawkish China approach in confirmation hearing

Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state sharply criticized China during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, previewing his expected hawkish approach toward Beijing.

China has “cheated, hacked and stolen” its way to global power, Sen. Marco Rubio said, adding that Washington should make clear to Beijing that the costs of a Taiwan invasion would be too high.

Rubio, who is likely to be confirmed as the top US diplomat, is also looking to make inroads in Latin America — a difficult task given increased Chinese investment there, The Economist noted.

But Trump’s increasingly close ties to CEOs with financial interests in China could potentially restrain hawks like Rubio, The Atlantic wrote.