Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainMcSally says current Senate should vote on Trump nominee Say what you will about the presidential candidates, as long as it isn't 'They're too old' The electoral reality that the media ignores MORE (R-Ariz.) referred to China as a "bully" during a Tuesday speech in Australia criticizing President Trump's foreign policy.

"The challenge is that as China has grown wealthier and stronger, it seems to be acting more and more like a bully," McCain said during a speech as a guest of the U.S. Studies Center at the University of Sydney, according to CNN.

"It is refusing to open more of its economy so that foreign businesses can compete fairly. It is stealing other peoples' intellectual property. It is asserting vast territorial claims that have no basis in international law. And it is using its trade and investment as tools to coerce its neighbors."

McCain also said he knows some of Trump's actions have "unsettled America's friends."

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"I realize that I come to Australia at a time when many are questioning whether America is still committed to these values," he said.

"And you are not alone. Other American allies have similar doubts these days. And this is understandable. I realize that some of President Trump's actions and statements have unsettled America's friends."

During the speech, McCain said the U.S. is "counting on Australia and our allies to stick with, to encourage us to stay true to who we are at our best, and remind us always just how much is at stake."

"Our foreign friends always tend to focus on the person in the White House. But America is far bigger than that," he said.