The interviewer, Susan Page, asked a brilliant question last night–how would you define the U.S. relationship with China? Neither candidate could provide a coherent answer, as the transcript below shows.
The central challenge we face, as I argued in The New Art of War and other places, is to recognize the nature of the conflict we are engaged in: on the one hand, we can have strong business and economic ties. On the other hand, China is trying very hard, and so far successfully, to undermine the American democracy and the American position in the world. And it is waging a campaign to steal technology and data from all over the world to establish itself as the dominant technological power. We can cooperate on some fronts; but on other fronts we must put up ferocious resistance. This is what Americans find so hard to understand. It’s a pity that our leaders cannot explain it. Here’s the key question:
Susan Page: (06:23)
I’d like to talk about China. We have as our next topic, we have no more complicated or consequential foreign relationship than the one with China. It is a huge market for American agricultural goods. It’s a potential partner in dealing with climate change in North Korea and in a video tonight, President Trump again, blamed it for the Coronavirus saying China will pay. Vice President Pence, how would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Competitors? Adversaries? Enemies? You have two minutes.
Mike Pence: (06:57)
Thank you, Susan. Well, before I leave that, let me speak to voting records if I can. Everybody knows that NAFTA costs literally thousands of American factories to close. We saw automotive jobs go South of the border. President Trump fought to renegotiate NAFTA. In the United States, Mexico and Canada the agreement is now the law of the land. American people deserve to know Senator Kamala Harris was one of only 10 members of the Senate to vote against the USMCA. It was a huge win for American auto workers. It was a huge win for American farmers, especially dairy in the upper Midwest. But Senator you said it didn’t go far enough on climate change, you put your radical environmental agenda ahead of American auto workers and a head of American jobs. I think the American people deserve to know that it’s probably why Newsweek magazine said that Kamala Harris was the most liberal member of the United States Senate in 2019, more liberal than Bernie Sanders, more liberal than any of the others in the United States Senate.
Mike Pence: (08:06)
So now with regard to China, Susan first and foremost, China is to blame for the coronavirus and President Trump is not happy about it. He’s made that very clear, made it clear again today that China and the world health organization did not play straight with the American people. They did not let our personnel into China to get information on the Coronavirus until the middle of February. Fortunately, President Trump in dealing with China from the outset of this administration, standing up to China that had been taking advantage of America for decades in the wake of Joe Biden’s cheerleading for China. President Trump made that decision before the end of January to suspend all travel from China. And again, the American people deserve to know Joe Biden opposed President Trump’s decision to suspend all travel from China. He said it was hysterical. He said it was-
Susan Page: (09:00)
Thank you Vice President Pence.
Mike Pence: (09:02)
The President Trump has stood up-
Susan Page: (09:03)
Vice President Pence, your time is up.
Mike Pence: (09:04)
To China. We’re going to continue to stand strong.
Susan Page: (09:06)
Thank you Vice President Pence.
Mike Pence: (09:07)
We want to improve the relationship, but we’re going to level the playing field and we’re going to hold China accountable-
Susan Page: (09:12)
Vice President Pence.
Mike Pence: (09:12)
for what they did to America with the coronavirus.
Susan Page: (09:13)
Thank you. Senator Harris, let me ask you the same question that I asked the vice-president. How would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Are we competitors? Adversaries? Enemies? You’ll have two minutes uninterrupted.
Kamala Harris : (09:29)
Susan, the Trump administration’s perspective and approach to China has resulted in the loss of American lives, American jobs, and America’s standing. There is a weird obsession that President Trump has had with getting rid of whatever accomplishment was achieved by President Obama and Vice President Biden. For example, they created within the White House and office that basically was responsible for monitoring pandemics. They got rid of it.
Mike Pence: (10:09)
Not true.
Kamala Harris : (10:10)
There was a team of disease experts that President Obama and Vice President Biden dispatched to China to monitor what is now predictable and what might happen. They pulled them out. We now are looking at 210,000 Americans who have lost their lives. Let’s look at the job situation. We mentioned before, the trade deal, the trade war, they wanted to call it with China. It resulted in the loss of over 300 manufacturing jobs and a manufacturing recession and the American consumer paid thousands of dollars, more for goods because of that failed war that they called it. Then let’s talk about standing. Pew, a reputable research firm has done an analysis that shows that leaders of all of our formerly allied countries have now decided that they hold in greater esteem and respect Xi Jinping the head of the Chinese communist party than they do Donald Trump. The President of the United States, the commander in chief of the United States. This is where we are today because of a failure of leadership by this administration.-30-
