Now that former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, the two politicians\u2019 records\u2026<\/b>
\nNow that former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, the two politicians\u2019 records on China can and should be compared.
How to deal with China, the nascent superpower in the East, has been a contentious issue for some time. It was even one of the defining questions of the 2016 presidential campaign. Particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, for which it is at least partially responsible, China\u2019s growing power and influence will remain an important issue going into the 2020 presidential campaign cycle.
Biden\u2019s tangled multi-decade relationship with China
Biden\u2019s attitude toward China throughout his political career has been somewhat dismissive, though his family has developed ties to the country that deserve careful scrutiny.
As recently as May 2019 in a campaign stump speech, Joe Biden said:
Even a decade ago, the idea that China is \u201cnot competition\u201d would have been inaccurate. Manufacturing began to flee the U. S. for the cheaper Chinese markets almost immediately following China\u2019s entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
Biden even referred to Trump\u2019s travel ban on China, effective February 2 and now supported by most of the Democratic Party, as \u201chysteria, xenophobia and fear-mongering.\u201d
The relationship between China and the Bidens gets more complicated once Hunter Biden, Joe\u2019s son, gets involved. When Joe was still serving as vice president, there was a massive deal done between Chinese state-run companies and a \u201cseries of LLCs\u201d created by Hunter and his partners.
The deal involved $1.5 billion being invested by a subsidiary of the Bank of China into Rosemont Seneca Partners, created by Hunter Biden. Later, Rosemont Realty, a partner company of Rosemont Seneca Partners, was bought by the Chinese company Gemini Investments in a deal that \u201cincluded a $3 billion commitment from the Chinese\u201d for the purchase of funding development opportunities within the U. S. Disturbingly, these deals occurred while Joe Biden was serving as vice president and helping shape U. S. policy on China.
Trump\u2019s erratic China policy
The promise to end the mass exodus of U. S. manufacturing to China and return jobs to America was a key part of Trump\u2019s 2016 campaign. Trump at least verbally recognizes the threat China poses to the U. S. and has succeeded in toughening U. S. trade policy towards China. However, it remains to be seen whether his actions will have any long-term success.
Trump, prior to launching a trade war against China, declared the U. S. \u201cwill no longer turn a blind eye to unfair economic practices.\u201d The first step of the trade war was enactment of $500 billion worth of tariffs on a variety of Chinese imports, including steel, aluminum and solar panels. (RELATED: How Exactly Is Trump\u2019s USMCA Trade Deal Different From NAFTA?)
The tariff war was partially resolved in January 2020 at the signing of the \u201cphase one\u201d trade deal between China and America. However, that deal was closer to a \u201ctruce\u201d than an actual victory on trade. The deal lowered some tariffs, but many remained on industries such as oil and natural gas. Additionally, almost two-thirds of Chinese imports are still under tariffs. The deal also fails to address some of the core political issues, such as Chinese currency manipulation and the flight of U. S. manufacturing jobs. The Trump administration recognizes that the deal is, in some ways, \u201cincomplete.\u201d
The Trump administration has been harsher toward China during the coronavirus crisis than the Biden campaign. As previously mentioned, Biden referred to the Chinese travel ban as \u201cxenophobic,\u201d while Trump has explicitly referred to coronavirus as the \u201cChinese virus.\u201d
Trump has also halted over $400 million dollars of yearly funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) over its alleged malfeasance in handling coronavirus. The WHO has faced criticism from many for \u201crunning interference for China,\u201d with their Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus winning his seat following China\u2019s backing in a 2017 election.
Public sentiment over the last several months has swung strongly against China, setting a 15-year record high with a recent Pew Research Poll showing that 66% of Americans have a negative view towards China. This shift in American attitudes, fueled in part by economic losses that the coronavirus has only multiplied, could mean that both presidential candidates\u2019 records on China policy will take an important role in deciding the upcoming presidential election.<\/p>\n