Senator Roger Wicker chairs the Armed Services Committee Hearings to examine the nominations of Bradley Hansell, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Security, Earl Matthews, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, and Dale Marks, of Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary, all of the Department of Defense, and Brandon Williams, of New York, to be Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security, in Washington, DC on April 8, 2025. (Official U.S. Senate photo by David Rogowski)
- “During every minute of dialogue, our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America,” the Mississippi Senator said Tuesday.
With Chinese President Xi Jinping set to visit the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump, Mississippi U.S. Senator Roger Wicker took to the floor of the Senate on Tuesday to outline the increasing tempo of Chinese aggression.
He called the Chinese President a “brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator.”
“Had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States, based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” Wicker said.
Wicker, a Republican that serves as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, addressed the Chinese Communist Party’s support for Iran, religious persecutions, and international coercion.
“For nearly a decade, Xi Jinping has consigned more than a million Uyghurs to concentration camps in China’s Xinjiang region,” Wicker said. “I hope our president will take this visit as an opportunity to advocate for the Uyghur people. The fact that they remain in prison by the millions is a grave injustice and a reminder of Xi Jinping’s many human rights abuses.”
The Senator also encouraged President Trump to raise these points of contention during this week’s bilateral summit.
“The president might inquire about the purposes of China’s massive military build-up, or about China’s clear support for Iran,” Wicker continued. “This summer, it was all over the press that China gave Iran satellite imagery intelligence, and that intelligence led to the death of American troops.”
Senator Wicker said he knew President Trump intends to discuss trade and artificial intelligence with the Chinese leadership, “and rightfully so.”
“Perhaps some progress will be made,” Wicker added. “But, Mr. President, during every minute of dialogue, our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”
Frank Corder
