White House mum on reports of China testing nuclear missile, says admin welcomes 'stiff competition'

White House mum on reports of China testing nuclear missile, says admin welcomes 'stiff competition'

By Jane Wilde - October 18, 2021

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday would not comment on reports that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, but instead said the United States welcomes "stiff competition," while maintaining that the Biden administration does "not want that competition to veer into conflict."

Reports over the weekend surfaced that China launched a missile in August, which then circled the globe before speeding towards its target, which it missed by about two-dozen miles. The move reportedly caught U.S. intelligence officials by surprise.

When asked about those reports Monday during the White House press briefing, Psaki pointed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's comments on the matter earlier in the day.

"I know general, Secretary Austin, I should say, was asked this question this morning and addressed it," Psaki said. "I'm not going to comment on this specific report."

"I can say, and echo what he said, which is, generally speaking, we have made clear our concern about the military capabilities that the PRC continues to pursue, and we've been consistent in our approach with China," Psaki said.

"We welcome stiff competition, but we do not want that competition to veer into conflict, and that is certainly what we convey privately as well," she added.

Alex, why don’t you kick us off.

Q Two foreign and one on nominations. To start, can you update us on the status of the U.S. and Canadian missionaries that were kidnapped in Haiti over the weekend? What’s been the U.S. involvement in tracking them down? Has the President been briefed on this? And is there any update on, sort of, their status?

MS. PSAKI: Sure. The President has been briefed and is receiving regular updates on what the State Department and the FBI are doing to bring these individuals home safely.

The FBI is part of a coordinated U.S. government effort to get the U.S. citizens involved to safety. Due to operational considerations, we’re not going to go into too much detail on that, but can confirm their engagement.

And the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince is coordinating with local authorities and providing assistance to the families to resolve the situation.

We can’t get into too many — too many details, I should say, about the individuals and their identities because of Privacy Act waiver considerations.

Q And then, can you comment on reports that China tested at nuclear-capable hypersonic missile over the summer to the surprise of U.S. officials? Are these accurate? And do these raise concerns about China’s nuclear capabilities?

MS. PSAKI: Well, I know General — Secretary Austin, I should say, was asked this question this morning and addressed it, but I’m not going to comment on the specific report.

I can say and would echo what he said, which is, generally speaking, we’ve made clear our concerns about the military capabilities that the PRC continues to pursue. And we have been consistent in our approach with China: We welcome stiff competition, but we not — we do not want that competition to veer into conflict. And that is certainly what we convey privately as well.

Q And then, on nominees, the Biden administration, at this point, has a smaller percentage of nominees confirmed than his recent predecessors. What do you make of this? Who is to blame? I mean, is this the fault of the Senate or is this in part because you have been focused on the COVID response and the Build Back Better Agenda? And is there a concern that this will affect government at this point?

MS. PSAKI: We are concerned about the obstruction of our nominees. And while we have made progress over the course of the last several months — back to the transition, even, of putting forward qualified nominees to serve in key and vital positions across government — there has been — there have been unprecedented delays, obstruction, holds on qualified individuals from Republicans in the Senate.

What is also true, if you look historically — and we can get you some numbers on this after the briefing to give you — to give this to you in more data specifics — is that many of our nominees — a huge number of our nominees pass with overwhelming majorities of Democrats and Republicans. They can be voted through by unanimous consent; you don’t need to use all of the hours on the floor to get it done.

Yet, there has been, time after time, obstruction that has prevented qualified nominees from being in vital positions, whether it’s in the national security roles; in the Defense Department; the State Department, where we’ve seen ambassadors held for weeks and months, at times; or even our economic nominees, who are unquestionably qualified but have been unable to move forward and serve in these positions.

So, I would say the blame is clear. It is frustrating. It is something that we wish would move forward more quickly. And there is historical precedent, of course, of moving these forward through a more — a faster process.

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