Trump's pick of Marco Rubio ignites fears of tougher US-China rivalry in second term

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

68% : "The focus of Trump 2.0 would be on MAGA, to Make America Great Again, and in that the clear challenge is China," Singh says.Rubio, 53, will be the first sitting US secretary of state, once he is confirmed by the Senate, to have been sanctioned by Beijing.
68% : In his first term, Trump approved more than $18bn in arms sales for Taiwan, compared to $7.7bn under Joe Biden.
62% : It is anticipated that Taiwan will make new arms purchases after Trump takes office.
54% : "Singh argues that Trump is "more prepared" and "much clearer" this time about what he wants to do than he was in his first term from 2017 to 2020.
45% : In a statement on his nomination by Trump, the Florida senator said he will "work every day" to enforce the next president's foreign policy agenda.
41% : That Trump moved swiftly to staff his foreign policy and national security team with China hawks is an indication that relations between the two superpowers will deteriorate further.
38% : Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS, believes that Beijing may try to sidestep Rubio and seek direct engagement between Xi and Trump or with other senior US officials.
27% : "Rubio and Trump haven't always been allies.
24% : Trump responded by calling him "choke artist" and "Little Marco".
23% : Trump is making "no secret of his intention" to take a hard line on China, says Swaran Singh, diplomacy and disarmament expert at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
14% : Rubio berated Trump for the size of his hands, calling him a "con artist" and "vulgar".

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