Vice presidential candidate Vance calls China 'the biggest threat to the United States'

[New Sancai Compilation First Release] Vance, the newly appointed Republican vice presidential candidate, has only served in the U.S. Senate for a short time. He has always held a hawkish attitude towards China. He has proposed legislation to limit China's access to U.S. financial markets and protect U.S. higher education from Chinese influence.

Vance called China the "biggest threat" to the United States in an interview shortly after being named former President Donald Trump's running mate on July 15.

Asked about Russia's war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and Kiev to "end this quickly so that the United States can focus on the real problem, which is China."

"This is the biggest threat to our country, and we're not paying attention to it at all," said Vance, a staunch supporter of Trump's "Make America Great Again" agenda.

The 39-year-old writer and venture capitalist rose to fame with his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy." He advocated a hands-off approach to foreign policy and was skeptical of military intervention.

More tariffs

Both Trump and Vance support imposing high tariffs on China. Vance said in an interview in May that the United States needs to impose sweeping tariffs on imported products.

"If you impose tariffs, you're essentially saying we're going to punish you for using slave labor in China and importing these things in the United States. What you end up doing is, you end up producing in the United States, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. Something more." he said.

Trump has repeatedly accused China of stealing American manufacturing jobs, especially in the Midwest.

"Vance supports more economic restrictions and tariffs on Chinese imports and investment," Dean Chen, a professor of political science at Ramapo College in New Jersey, told VOA. "So I expect his stance on China will be different from that of a potential new administration. Trump nationalists in China are aligned.”

Trump has promised that if elected, he would impose a comprehensive tariff of 10% on imported goods and impose tariffs of 60% or higher on Chinese goods to protect American industry.

Joel Goldstein, an emeritus law professor at Saint Louis University and an expert on vice presidential issues, said Vance was chosen because he is "a very loyal supporter who accepts Trump's policies and style and seems willing to defend Trump’s words and actions.”

"This choice appears to be an attempt to appeal to Trump's MAGA base rather than to unite the Republican Party or the country," he told VOA.

Taiwan

Experts say Vance may be more of an isolationist than Trump because he strongly opposes financing the war in Ukraine.

"He served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq, and he believed the lessons learned from that war should avoid future entanglements," Chen said.

Chen added that it remains to be seen whether this attitude will lead to less support for Taiwan's military contingencies.

"We all know that Trump has made it clear that he will not announce whether he will send troops to help Taiwan if Beijing invades the democratic island, saying that a clear explanation would weaken his negotiating position," he said. "I hope Vance follows the same line as President Trump."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)