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During a speech at The Heritage Foundation today, Ron DeSantis outlined his vision for a foreign policy that prioritizes and protects America’s vital interests. DeSantis’ foreign policy recognizes that the Chinese Communist Party presents the greatest threat to America and centers around one idea: “We Win and They Lose.” As president, DeSantis will ban China and other adversaries from purchasing farmland and property near critical infrastructure and military installations, rebuild America’s navy, and unleash America’s full economic potential to prevent the CCP from surpassing America as an economic power.
DeSantis said during his speech:
“Chaos abounds, dangers are gathering, America lacks direction, and leadership is in short supply. The world is getting more dangerous as conflicts mount…
“We’ve seen the ruling class in this country empower China for a generation…I’m here to tell you, decline is not inevitable. Decline is a choice. We cannot raise the white flag of surrender. We have time to get this right. But time is running out. Just as we don’t want to be mired in pessimism and accept the idea of an inevitable American decline, we also can’t be diluted with happy talk. Decline will not be averted by looking at our situation through rose colored glasses telling Americans that everything is fine…
“Our goal from a national security perspective vis-à-vis the CCP is very simple. We win; They lose.”
This is the sixth major policy announcement DeSantis has made since launching his campaign. It follows his plans to:
- Stop the invasion and secure the border
- Return to a mission first military
- Declare America’s economic independence
- Revive American energy dominance
- Support America’s veterans
PLAN SUMMARY
Seize the Initiative, Recover American Deterrence, Secure the Peace
- Four Oceans Navy – Direct a fleet to be built that gets industry on track to sustain a major war this decade by delivering a fleet of 355 warships by the end of the first term (including large, unmanned ones) and a battle force of 385 ships by the end of the second term with a comprehensive, achievable plan to achieve 600 ships in 20 years
- “Rings of Fire” – posture ground-based missiles in the Indo-Pacific to deter China
- Reform and slash the bloated defense bureaucracy to enable agile innovation, rapidly integrate commercial technologies, address underfunded military needs, and rebuild a lethal, capable, and battle-ready fighting force.
- Accelerate development of industrial and testing capacities to field advancements in hypersonic weapons, missile defense, and autonomous systems to offset China’s advances
- Boost nuclear and space deterrence capabilities in response to China’s anti-satellite threats
- End the revolving door between the Pentagon and defense contractors
- Ensure Taiwan has training & capabilities to deter China’s aggression and place them first in line for purchasing U.S. advanced weaponry, arms, and munitions
- Rapidly build critical munitions, such as long-range anti-ship and land attack missiles, stockpiles, and necessary industrial base tools using a revamped reauthorized Defense Production Act
- Complete a full financial audit of the Pentagon by the end of the first term
National Economic Security Strategy to Beat China’s Economic Coercion
- Establish an Office of Economic Security and Competition to identify gaps in key sectors, consolidate disparate bureaucracy, and execute plans to secure critical supply chains and strategic interests, protect emerging technologies, and reduce reliance on adversaries
- Select and hold accountable personnel, such as the Treasury Secretary, whose commitment will be to promote America’s interests, not Wall Street’s access to China
- Reinvest in America’s industrial base
- Make future generations of scientists, engineers, and skilled workers through skilled trades education and expanding opportunities with apprenticeships.
- Our factories and shipyards will once again build the tools of the 21st century
- Implement trade policies that defend American workers, farmers, and supply chain security
- End China’s most favored nation status and crackdown on China’s abuse of U.S. de minimis rules
- Mandate divestment from Chinese companies threatening our interests for universities, public pensions, Thrift Savings Program, and other tax-exempt entities
- Delist and deindex Chinese companies supporting PLA, human rights abuses, or denying investor rights
- Ring-fence U.S. capital (investment flows) from China’s Communist Party and Military, not just venture capital and private equity
- Work with allies to reduce exposure and investments within malign Chinese firms
- Enforce reciprocity and crack down on China’s unfair trade practices
- Offer strategic tax incentives for companies to reshore and nearshore production from China
- Revoke the tax-exempt status of non-profit organizations that invest in Chinese companies
- Build alternatives to Chinese debt-trap diplomacy in developing nations
- Slash red tape to unleash America’s energy prowess, including Biden’s EV mandates and New Green Deal at all costs strategy, and build the infrastructure to supply affordable energy to Europe and beyond
- Reorder tax policies to favor domestic manufacturing and production
- Prevent China from cornering markets on key rare earth minerals and expand opportunities at home and in our hemisphere for mining and mineral processing
- Overhaul statutes like NEPA that allow fringe interests to delay critical projects endlessly
- Robust use and reforms of the Defense Production Act, our development banks, and overseas investment tools to onshore and nearshore production of critical supply chains of economic power and national security
- Prioritize our own backyard in the Western Hemisphere from CCP and adversary economic and military influence
Dominating the Technologies of Today and Tomorrow
- Prioritize and lead emerging technology fields like quantum, biotech, AI, robotics, space, cyber, crypto, blockchain, and decentralized technologies
- Halt the flow of American dollars strengthening China’s military against our interests through bold, comprehensive legislation and executive action – no more half-measures or loopholes
- Reform and fully enforce export controls to deny China access to sensitive technologies
- Train and tap the talent of the younger generation and engineers to pioneer disruptive solutions
- Restrict Chinese investment in U.S. tech firms and track flows of U.S. capital into China
- Ring-fence advanced technologies from China and align export controls with allies to maximize impact
- Pressure and provide allies alternatives to Chinese technologies in 5G/6G, AI, quantum, and cloud
- Counter China’s continued moves to dominate critical mineral mining and processing globally
- Mandate earlier adoption of quantum-resistant encryption for government systems and treat the future of quantum as the space race of our age
- Harness the potential of blockchain technology for America by supporting blockchain based payment systems, Bitcoin as a store of value, and those builders in the crypto and web3 space
Protect the Homeland
- Block investments in China that aid their military modernization
- Take action against unauthorized Chinese military and intelligence aircraft/balloons in U.S. airspace
- Ban Chinese and countries of concern from purchasing farmland and land/property near critical infrastructure and military installations
- Prioritize and resource against the CCP threat through a fundamental reform of the Intelligence Community, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Homeland Security
- Counter Chinese espionage and cyberattacks on U.S. targets, including the prioritization of a resilient grid, critical infrastructure, and supply chains
- Defeat CCP influence campaigns and propaganda and expose tactics used against U.S. citizens, institutions, and businesses
- Freeze assets and restrict visas for CCP officials and entities involved in malign activities
- Support Chinese dissidents and those persecuted by the CCP
- Respond forcefully to any cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure
- Block malign CCP influence in schools, corporations, and government, including spyware and malicious apps and data use controlled by adversaries such as TikTok
- Sanction and take action against Chinese fentanyl and precursor chemical traffickers
- Expedite move towards post-quantum encryption standards and make the U.S. the world leader in quantum
- Secure vital supply chains like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals from China control
- Overhaul engagement in international organizations to combat Chinese influence and coercion
- Secure our border once and for all
Revitalizing U.S. Sovereignty and Countering China with Allies
- Implement a robust Western hemisphere strategy reasserting U.S. leadership and countering China
- Build stronger ties among Indo-Pacific allies, including Australia, Japan, India, South Korea, and the Philippines
- Promote extensive interoperability with allies, including Taiwan, and more collaboration on defense tech standards, information sharing, joint training, and exercises to strengthen deterrence and operational effectiveness
- Expand people-to-people ties in the Indo-Pacific region with allies and partners beyond government partnerships, including educational, cultural, and business exchanges to deepen relationships with regional populations
- Demand increased defense investment by allies, such as some NATO partners, who need to take further financial and security burdens
- Pursue diplomacy from a position of strength, not desperation. Do not repeat past mistakes of failed appeasement
- Retool the Foreign Service by actively recruiting from honorably discharged U.S. servicemembers
- Invest in military capabilities and presence in the Indo-Pacific and strengthen ties with key regional allies and partners
- Confront and overhaul international institutions susceptible to CCP influence and coercion that undermine U.S. and allied interests
- Shift to voluntary contributions and withdrawing if groups undermine American interests. International institutions must earn U.S. support by delivering clear benefits, advancing our economic and security priorities, and respecting our sovereignty. Groups will only earn funding through fundamental reform
- If reforms don’t happen or a group harms U.S. interests, we will withdraw membership and money
- Reassert leadership in the Western Hemisphere through economic, diplomatic, and security tools to counter China. Prioritize partnerships based on shared values and interests
- Provide alternatives to Chinese predatory loans and help build China-resistant economies in the region
- Revitalize neglected regional security relationships through new military training and arms sales
- Forge new mutually beneficial trade pacts with transparency, reciprocity, and respect for sovereignty
- Work with allies who want to invest in themselves to strengthen their defense industrial bases and capabilities and remove barriers to better industry cooperation
- Build and align our allies to maximize the impact of necessary economical and technological controls
- Champion liberty and expose the Chinese Communist Party’s abuses
