Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) said on Sunday that China is trying to leverage its supply of medical safety gear to force other countries to use Huawei for 5G, a company owned by communist China that Attorney General William Barr recently suggested poses perhaps the greatest national security threat to the United States and its allies.

At the tail end of a video clip from a Fox News interview that Green posted to his Twitter account over the weekend, Green said, “In France, we were told yesterday on a conference call that [French President Emanuel] Macron was talking to [Chinese President] Xi and Macron asked for a billion masks, and Xi said, ‘We’ll give them to you if you implement 5G with Huawei.’ That’s who China is and it’s time the world wake up and recognize it.”

Attorney General Barr said earlier this year that China’s intent is to “dominate” the 5G market with Huawei, which will allow them to gain more influence in the global economy and control the next generation of internet. “Much of the discussion on the dangers of allowing China to establish dominance in 5G has been focused on the immediate security concern of using communications networks that China can monitor and surveil,” Barr said during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in early February. “That is, in fact, a monumental danger.”

The New York Post reported on Sunday that the administration was weighing taking legal action against China after major U.S. manufacturers said that China blocked them from being able to export medical safety gear as the coronavirus pandemic exploded around the world.

WATCH:

We must increase our strategic stockpiles and fix our reliance on China– the country that started this virus– for our Nation's supply of medications and medical supplies. Joined @LelandVittert on @ANHQDC to discuss: pic.twitter.com/EXqe6C5Jut — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) April 4, 2020

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