TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Senator Mitt Romney said he believes the U.S. has no “game plan” when it comes to countering China’s pursuit of global leadership.

“If we have a strategy to counter China, it’s not working,” he said at a meeting of the U.S.’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday (March 14).

Romney’s comments came as the senator asked the U.S. State Department about a forthcoming report on the country's China strategy. According to legislation passed as a precursor to the report, the document was required to be submitted in 2022: “So it’s obviously late,” Romney said.

“Apparently the work has been done, but this has not been provided,” he said. “But China, from what I can tell, has a game plan, and it’s succeeding.”

“We don’t have a game plan I recognize, and whether we do or not, we’re not succeeding,” he said.

Daniel Kritenbrink, deputy head of the U.S. State Department responsible for China, responded that the U.S.’s strategy can be summarized by the words “invest, align, compete.” However, Romney called this insufficient.

“Three words do not make a strategy,” Romney said, adding that he believes the U.S. is “losing on the strategic battlefield.”

Kritenbrink apologized for the State Department’s failure to provide the report, though denied Romney’s assertions. “I’m confident that our China strategy has been successful and is succeeding, but this is an unprecedented challenge,” he said.

Kritenbrink also said he would respond to Romney’s request for the report, though he did not specify how or when he would do this.

Romney addresses the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday (March 14). (C-SPAN video)