By Corrie Dosh

Talking Tough on China

By Corrie Dosh

Both U.S. presidential candidates prom ise to take a strong stance against China—but what exactly do they plan to do?

A s the United States’ largest trading partner, China represents an increasingly important issue in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Both presidential candidates, Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor M itt Romney, have pledged a strong stance against unfair trading practices, concerns over human rights and intellectual property.

Tough words against China play well with American voters, say observers, but often fail to translate into actual policy. All presidential candidates over the past two decades have pledged to protect U.S. interests and correct trade imbalances. Once in office, U.S. leaders often seek a more cooperative relationship, bow ing to U.S.business interests.

Though both candidates talk tough, there are some clear divisions in their positions.

Obam a and Bid en

According to the U.S. think tank Council on Foreign Relations, Obama sought a cooperative relationship w ith China during his term,launching a strategic trade dialogue in 2009 and welcoming Chinese President Hu Jintao for a state visit in January 2011.

The relationship between the two countries over the past four years hasn’t been completely harmonious. Obama has criticized the Chinese Government’s currency policies and confi rmed a $5.8-billion arms sale package for Taiwan. Obama also created a Trade Enforcement Unit to investigate piracy and counterfeiting, specifically calling out “unfair trading practices in countries like China.” In 2012, Obama fi led complaints w ith the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China’s exports of rare earth metals and taxes on imported U.S. vehicles.

The biggest strain to ties during the Obama adm inistration perhaps came in April 2012, when Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese dissident and activist, sought protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. For weeks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton negotiated w ith Chinese authorities, who eventually allowed Chen to leave the country on a student visa. The agreement was w idely praised in the United States as an expedient,non-confrontational solution that m inim ized interference w ith China’s internal affairs.

Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society, called Chen’s release a “victory” for China. “China showed either a new maturity, or a much keener sense of realism,perhaps recognizing that relations w ith the United States are even more important than the fate of a single dissident,” Schell w rote inThe Atlanticmonthly.

Overall, Obama has aimed for a cooperative Sino-American relationship, saying, “In an interconnected world, in a global economy,nations—including our own—w ill be more prosperous and more secure when we work together.”

Vice President Joe Biden took the lead in formulating the Obama adm inistration’s China policy over the past four years. The gaffe-prone vice president made headlines during a 2011 visit to China, when he said he “fully understands” China’s one-child policy. Republican presidential candidate M itt Romney pounced on the statement, calling the controversial one-child policy “gruesome and barbaric.” Biden quickly backed down,calling the policy “repugnant.”

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Biden subscribes to the view that the United States should attempt to cooperate and build a positive relationship w ith China. In a 2001 speech before the Asia-Pacific Council of the American Chambers of Commerce, Biden said, “Our top priority should remain integrating China into the community of nations, articulating the rules of the road, and then holding the Chinese Government accountable for its actions.”

Rom ney and Ryan

M itt Romney often breaks out anti-China rhetoric in his stump speeches as a presidential candidate, tapping into blue-collar resentment over outsourced jobs and unease over China’s rising prom inence. As president, he prom ised to declare China an“illegal currency manipulator.” In a 2011 op-ed inThe Washington Post, Romney accused China of systematically exploiting other econom ies by enabling piracy and subsidizing domestic producers.

Romney has also threatened to invoke trade tariffs against China and “end procurement of Chinese goods and services” if China fails to follow WTO protocols, but economists say Romney’s commitment to free trade makes sanctions unlikely.

The hardline stance against China is popular with voters, who fear a shift toward “socialism”in Obama’s policies and are concerned that China is the largest holder of U.S. debt. On his campaign website, Romney advocates an expansion of U.S. naval presence in the Western Pacific and deepening ties with India and Indonesia to guarantee trade routes and U.S. interests.

“Our objective is not to build an anti-China coalition. Rather it is to strengthen cooperation among countries with which we share a concern about China’s growing power and increasing assertiveness and w ith whom we also share an interest in maintaining freedom of navigation and ensuring that disputes over resources are resolved by peaceful means. It is yet another way of closing off China’s option of expanding its influence through coercion,” Romney states on his website.

Romney has also prom ised to press China on human rights, saying a failure to support dissidents out of fear of offending the Chinese Government w ould “embolden” China’s leaders. He accused Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of relegating the “future of freedom to second or third place” when she stated in 2009 that the Obama administration would not let U.S. concerns over China’s human rights record interfere w ith cooperation on global economic concerns.

In an August 16 speech, Paul Ryan,Republican vice presidential candidate, accused Obama of allowing China to treat him like a “doormat” over trade issues. He promised that he would “crack down on China cheating” and to protect U.S. trade interests.

It’s a seemingly about-face for Ryan, who voted against the Currency Reform Fair Trade Act in 2010 that would have given Obama more authority to impose tariffs on imports from countries that have “fundamentally undervalued” currencies.

Ryan has also taken the lead in criticizing China’s social policies, saying in a speech to the Alexander Hamilton Society that it is clear China has “different values” and that “a liberalizing China is not only in the interests of the world, but also in China’s own best interests as it copes w ith the tremendous challenges it faces over the next couple of decades.”

The author is a freelance w riter in New York City