KENNEDY: WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THE
DANGEROUS NEW ALLIANCE
THREATENING THE WORLD AS RUSSIAN
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND
CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING,
TOMORROW THEY’RE MEETING IN
UZBEKISTAN TO DISCUSS HOW CHINA
AND RUSSIA CAN WORK TOGETHER TO
CREATE A NEW INTERNATIONAL ORDER
TO RIVAL OUR WESTERN SYSTEM
MONETARILY, CULTURALLY,
MILITARILY.
BUT IS IT POSSIBLE XI NO LONGER
TRUSTS PUTIN GIVEN RUSSIA’S
EMBARRASSING FAILURES IN UKRAINE
OF LATE?
HERE WITH ME NOW, SYSTEM OF THE
DOWN FAN, TENNESSEE REPUBLICAN
CONGRESSMAN AND HOUSE FOREIGN
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEMBER MARK
GREEN.
WELCOME, SIR.
SO WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS
BUBBLING AXIS OF EVIL?
SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?
>> WELL, KENNEDY, I THINK THE
CHINESE OFFICIAL TODAY THE SAID
SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHINESE AND
THE RUSSIANS WANT TO TAKE THE
WORLD IN A REASONABLE DIRECTION.
I GUESS IF BEIJING, YOU KNOW, IS
KILLING UIGHURS, COMMITTING
GENOCIDE AND RUSSIA IS KILLING
WELL OVER 100,000 UKRAINIANS
NOW, THEY THINK THAT’S A
REASONABLE DIRECTION, I DON’T
THINK THE REST OF THE WORLD IS
BUYING THIS.
YEAH, WE HAVE TO BE CONCERNED.
THE SEIZURE, BASICALLY, OF THE
MAJOR TRADE ROUTES, YOU KNOW,
HIGH THAT AND RUSSIA WORKING --
CHINA AND RUSSIA WORKING
TOGETHER ON THE ARCTIC, THAT
WOULD BE TERRIBLE FOR AMERICA.
SO WE CAN’T DO ANYTHING THAT
WOULD EITHER EMPOWER XI WITH
TAIWAN OR, I MEAN, WE DO HAVE TO
PUSH BACK.
BUT THE ONE GREAT THING ABOUT
THIS IS IS IT’S GOING TO PUT THE
WEST FURTHER AND FURTHER ALIGNED
AS WELL JUST LIKE RUSSIA’S
INVASION OF UKRAINE HAS DONE.
SO IT’S VERY INTERESTING, YOU
KNOW, DEVELOPMENT.
KENNEDY: SO, OBVIOUSLY, THAT IS
THE DOWNSIDE FOR THEM, IS YOU
HAVE ECONOMIES THAT WANT TO
THRIVE THAT DO ERR A LITTLE BIT
MORE TOWARD FREE MARKETS, NOT
THE UNITED STATES AS MUCH AS WE
USED TO BE.
AND RIGHT NOW CHINA AND RUSSIA,
THEY’RE REALLY EACH OTHER’S MAIN
TRADING PARTNERS.
RUSSIA IS SELLING CHINA A BUNCH
OF THEIR LIQUIFIED NATURAL
GAS -- >> TITANIUM --
KENNEDY: YES, ABSOLUTELY.
RUSSIA IS BUYING FROM CHINA
MOBILE PHONES AND CARS.
YOU CAN ONLY SUSTAIN THAT FOR SO
LONG.
OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THE
COMMUNIST PARTY IN CHINA DOESN’T
NECESSARILY TRUST RUSSIA, BUT IS
THERE DISTRUST FOR -- THEIR
DISTRUST FOR RUSSIA GREATER THAN
THEIR HATRED FOR THE WEST?
>> WELL, THAT’S A GREAT
QUESTION, AND I THINK ONLY TIME
IS REALLY GOING TO ANSWER THAT
QUESTION.
BUT I CAN SAY THIS, AND I THINK
IT WAS THE TOLLING YEN 40 WHO
ONCE SAID EVIL PEOPLE, YOU NEVER
KNOW WHETHER THEY’RE CHEATING ON
ONE ANOTHER OR THEY’RE REALLY,
TRULY ALIGNED.
I THINK WHAT WE CAN EXPECT HERE
IS THIS IS GOING TO FALL APART.
IT’S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO LAST
VERY LONG.
RIGHT NOW IT’S AN ALLIANCE OF
CONVENIENCE, AND YOU JUST
SPECIFIED SOME OF THOSE.
AND ALSO GAS, I MEAN, YOU HAVE
TO THINK ABOUT NATURAL GAS WITH,
THIS NEW SIBERIAN PIPELINE THAT
THEY’RE GOING TO BUILD.
YOU KNOW, THAT CODEPENDENCE DOES
IS SORT OF DRIVE THE NEED FOR
ALLIANCE, BUT I THINK THAT’S
NEAR TERM.
YOU CAN’T TRUST PUTIN, YOU CAN’T
TRUST XI, SO I DON’T THINK IT
LASTS IN THE LONG TERM.
KENNEDY: ALL RIGHT, SO LET ME
ASK YOU THIS, BECAUSE IF RUSSIA
REALLY DID HAVE CHINA’S TRUST,
CHINA WOULD BE GIVING THEM
WEAPONS SYSTEMS TO FURTHER FIGHT
IN UKRAINE, BUT THEY’RE NOT.
RUSSIA’S HAVING TO BUY MISSILES
FROM NORTH KOREA.
WHAT DOES THAT SAY TO YOU ABOUT
THAT ASPECT OF THEIR
RELATIONSHIP?
>> I THINK XI JINPING IS JUST
VERY CALCULATING IN HOW FAR HE’S
WILLING TO PUSH THE WEST,
SPECIFICALLY THE UNITED STATES.
HE KNOWS THAT WE’RE SORT OF
GEARING UP.
WE’RE LATE TO THE PARTY, BUT
WE’RE GEARING UP IN THIS
NEAR-PEER OR REALLY IN MANY
AREAS PEER-TO-PEER COMPETITION.
AND I THINK HE’S JUST NOT
WILLING TO PUSH IT THAT MUCH
FURTHER PARTICULARLY SINCE
CHINA’S ECONOMY IS SO DEPENDENT
ON THE UNITED STATES AND ON
EUROPE.
THEY DO A LOT OF TRADING WITH
JAPAN.
IF THEY START SELLING WEAPONS
SYSTEMS TO RUSSIA, IT WILL
REALLY PUT THAT, YOU KNOW,
ECONOMIC BUSINESS IN JEOPARDY.
KENNEDY: YES, AND ALL HOPE THAT
SOME OF THESE WORLD POWERS HAVE
LEARNED THAT AT POINT --
[LAUGHTER]
THAT YOU WANT GOODS TO CROSS
BORDERS, NOT SOLDIERS.
>> YEAH.
KENNEDY: YOU KNOW, THAT IS THE
IDEAL THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE
GOING FOR, BUT SO MANY PEOPLE
HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS.
CONGRESSMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR STOPPING BY.
>> THANKS, KENNEDY.
KENNEDY: I’M GLAD YOU’RE A MUSIC