Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday plans on reversing his earlier stance on China, acknowledging during remarks in Iowa he is "worried" about the communist nation's economic and military rise.

Biden plans on telling Iowans, "We are in a competition with China," and that "we need to get tough," according to CNN.

The prepared remarks are a striking change in tone for the former vice president and former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who in his 2020 campaign has come under repeated criticism for dismissing China's threat to the United States.

[ Related: Trump says Biden is 'very naive' on China]

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During his first visit to Iowa in April, Biden said China was "not competition" and mocked the idea that the world's second-largest economy could soon overtake the U.S. It also comes days after Biden said he had reversed his longtime support for the Hyde Amendment, an annual congressional provision that prohibits federal funding for abortions.

Biden is set to call for a "united front of allies to challenge China's abusive behavior," adding, "We need to rally more than half the world's economy to hold China to account for their cheating. And get a chorus of voices speaking out on China's repression."

Biden's previous assertions that China wasn't a competitor has given Democratic primary rivals an opening. Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan said recently Biden was "stunningly out of touch." And Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted, on May 1, "It's wrong to pretend that China isn't one of our major economic competitors."

Both the GOP and President Trump's reelection campaign have used Biden's remarks as a potential opening to convince swing voters that Democrats can't be trusted in dealing with trade negotiations with China.