Republican presidential candidates trade barbs over China policy

Republican presidential candidates quarreled — and stumbled — over China, with ex-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley taking aim at her former boss Donald Trump’s policies toward the world’s second-largest economy and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez committing an embarrassing gaffe. 

Currently polling in fourth place in a GOP field dominated by the ex-president, Haley said Tuesday that Trump’s China policy didn’t go far enough. Trump “was almost singularly focused” on the trade relationship with China, while ignoring other geopolitical threats, she said. 

“He did not put us on a stronger military foothold in Asia. He did not stop the flow of American technology and investment into the Chinese military. He did not effectively rally our allies against the Chinese threat,” she said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. “China was militarily stronger when President Trump left office than when he entered.” 

Haley called for ending normal trade relations with China. Meanwhile, Suarez, another Republican contender, on Tuesday flashed a poor grasp on issues related to the country. 

Asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday whether he would address China’s human rights record against its Uyghur minority, Suarez responded “What’s a Uyghur?”

“You really need to know about the Uyghurs, Mayor,” Hewitt said. “You’ve got to talk about it every day, OK?” 

Suarez told Hewitt that he would search the term, saying he’s a “fast learner.” He later tweeted that he is “well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China” and that he didn’t recognize the pronunciation Hewitt used. 

China has been accused of widespread human rights abuses against mostly Muslim Uyghurs in the far west region of Xinjiang. The country pushes back against criticism of its policies in the western region as interference in domestic affairs. 

Hawkish rhetoric toward the US’s relationship with its closest economic rival, China, is a staple within Republican politics. While in the White House, Trump engaged in a trade war with the country, slapping tariffs on many of its goods. 

Campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Trump said he was the only candidate with a record of being tough on China. “I alerted people to the dangers of China. Before me nobody knew China was doing numbers on us,” he said.  

Haley’s speech, though, offered perhaps the most specific China policy manifesto of any Republican candidate to date. She proposed bans on Chinese grants to US universities and on lobbying by Chinese companies as well as an end to licensing of technology transfers.

“We’ve tried sanctions but they’re not working. We must ratchet up the pressure. As president, I will push Congress to revoke permanent normal trade relations until the flow of fentanyl ends,” she said. “If China wants to start normal trade again, it has to stop killing Americans.”

Haley also scolded the Biden administration, saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing last week was “a gold-plated invitation for more Chinese aggression, not less.”

Asked in New Hampshire Tuesday how he would address the rise of China’s economic and military power, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called for a “Pacific version of NATO” to contain Beijing.

“They said that if you do most-favored-nation status to China back 20, 25 years ago, put them in the World Trade Organization, China would become wealthier, more Democratic and peaceful and we’d all live happily ever after,” he said. “Well, it didn’t quite work out that way.”