(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says China is the greatest threat to the peace and prosperity of the world and the U.S. cannot shrink from the challenge. “That goes for trade, that goes for energy and most certainly it goes for the global world order,” Ernst says. The commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence recently warned that China is building up every part of its military — from space and cyber to its navy. Ernst, a Republican, is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She suggests China’s president Xi Jinping is a lot like Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“China is trying to engage in those same type of activities as Russia as they look towards the South China Sea and Taiwan,” Ernst says. Ernst says cloud computing firms in China are trying to infiltrate and undercut U.S. companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft. Ernst is calling on the Biden Administration to impose sanctions on China and encourage the same response from allied countries that are facing the same economic and national security threats from China’s technology.

“I believe in America first, but never America alone,” Ernst says. “There is so much potential that we can tap into out there from our partners and our allies.” Ernst made her comments at a recent foreign policy forum in New York City.