The United States’ policy towards China has generally remained consistent from the administration of former President Donald Trump to that of President Joe Biden. Both have viewed China as America’s greatest competitor. However, as reported by Voice of America correspondent Elizabeth Lee, the two current candidates, Harris and Trump, have somewhat different approaches to relations with China.
Despite their disagreements on a range of issues, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump agree on one point: the threat posed by China. Robert O’Brien served as national security advisor during Trump’s administration.
“I think the threat we face from China is much more serious than that from the Soviet Union during the Cold War,” says O’Brien.
He states that the United States must confront China by demonstrating strength.
“It’s not just military power. It’s economic power. Diplomatic power. Soft power and cultural power. This intimidates these adversaries,” O’Brien said.
In terms of economics, both the Trump and Biden administrations have used tariffs to counter Chinese practices of flooding the market with cheap products.
“China will take all your business because of electric vehicles and the materials they have. We don’t have those,” said former President Trump.
He proposes imposing tariffs of up to 60% on Chinese imports. Vice President Harris also speaks about the US-China competition.
“I will ensure that we lead the world toward a future in space and artificial intelligence. America must win the race, not China,” said Vice President Harris.
“She has supported some of the trade restrictions of the Biden administration. But she is not very in favor of tariffs,” says Jeremi Suri from the University of Texas.
Analysts say former President Trump views the issue more practically.
“My first call will probably be to President Xi. I will tell him that he needs to implement the agreement they reached to buy $50 billion worth of American farm products. And I guarantee you he will buy them,” said former President Trump.
In the realm of foreign policy, O’Brien states that it is important to build alliances with countries that have similar perceptions.
“There was a time when America could manage alone. We can’t do it alone anymore,” O’Brien said.
One expert notes that former President Trump has diverged from traditional Republican foreign policy focused on building strong alliances.
“Trump is not at all about alliances and more asks the question, ‘What do we gain?'” says Richard Murray from the University of Houston.
As electoral rhetoric around competition with China and security risks intensifies, some Americans fear that the repercussions may be felt by Asian Americans and Chinese people living in the United States, says Steven Pei, who emigrated from Taiwan and now works as a university professor in the US.
“They think the entire American society is facing a risk from China. So there needs to be a response from society at large to address this threat that comes from factories, students, researchers from China. I will be included too, as people cannot distinguish whether I am from Taiwan or China, or Korea,” says Pei.
With the harsh rhetoric of former President Trump, some Asian Americans are concerned about the rising anti-Chinese sentiment if he is elected president. But Republican Asian Americans say they hope that as a businessman, he can reach agreements with China that will benefit all Americans. /VOA
EDITED by:
“KORÇA BOOM”
