U.S. Democrats and Republicans United on China

TaiwanPlus News

U.S. Democrats and Republicans agree that China is a rival that needs to be kept at bay. But even though the two parties agree on that, they disagree on who is best fit to handle the task.

Transcript

00:00Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. are divided on nearly every issue.

00:07From abortion to gun control to economic policy, the two sides rarely see eye to eye.

00:14And in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, hotly contested between Republican

00:20candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, these differences have been amplified.

00:27But there is one area where both parties are starting to share some common ground,

00:33the United States' rivalry with China.

00:36Both sides seem to agree that China poses significant challenges to not just the U.S.,

00:43but also the current world order.

00:45Believe it or not, I'm on five different committees, everything related to China.

00:50Korean American Michelle Steele is the U.S. representative for California's 45th congressional

00:56district in Orange County.

00:59She's a Republican and a self-professed China hawk.

01:03Steele says China poses several threats to the U.S. from global trade.

01:09I'm on actually with the means committee.

01:11We have trade issues.

01:12They never really play fair game.

01:15To soft power and espionage.

01:18They are spreading propaganda to our universities and pouring money in.

01:22And they are stealing our intellectual properties from universities.

01:27There are similar sentiments about China across the political aisle.

01:32Taiwanese American Jay Chen also lives in Southern California.

01:37He's a Naval Reservist, co-chair of Taiwanese Americans for Harris, a group supporting the

01:43Democratic candidate's campaign.

01:45And he ran against Michelle Steele in 2022.

01:50And though Chen differs from Steele on nearly every issue, they do agree that China's business

01:56practices are a serious challenge for the U.S.

02:00We know that China does not compete fairly against our companies and has expelled a lot

02:06of our companies, made it difficult for U.S. companies to operate there, meanwhile engaging

02:10in economic espionage.

02:12But with his naval experience, Chen also says that China poses major maritime challenges.

02:19Beijing has been asserting its claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, something that's

02:25caused clashes with its Southeast Asian neighbors, including close U.S. ally, the Philippines.

02:32So much trade flows through the South China Sea.

02:35And we've seen China take really aggressive actions, such as building artificial islands

02:40on reefs and have taken provocative actions against some of our allies.

02:45China also claims Taiwan as part of its territory, something the Taiwanese government denies.

02:53And because Taiwan insists on its own sovereignty, Beijing regularly threatens to take the country

02:59by force.

03:02China's military recently simulated a blockade around Taiwan, calling attention to a very

03:17real threat for Taipei.

03:19For decades, the U.S. has supported Taiwan by providing it with the weapons it needs

03:25to defend itself.

03:27But that support has been expanding.

03:30Either way, both sides of the aisle are getting tough on China.

03:35Last year, Steele and a Democratic colleague introduced a piece of legislation that would

03:40authorize the U.S. president to lend or lease weapons to Taiwan.

03:45That bill would cut the red tape for getting American munitions in the hands of Taiwanese soldiers.

03:51We always speak up for Taiwan.

03:54And we are standing, you know, up to actually to China, make sure that China is going to

04:01not going to attack Taiwan because Taiwan is a sovereign country.

04:05Meanwhile, Jay Chen points out that U.S. President Joe Biden has gone even further than past

04:12leaders in expressing support for Taipei.

04:15President Biden even said if Taiwan were to be attacked, that the U.S. would support Taiwan

04:19militarily and that broke a lot of precedent.

04:22But though Democrats and Republicans agree that more needs to be done about China, they

04:27differ on how to approach relations with China and on who is best fit for the job.

04:33Steele says Republicans are tough and can get the job done.

04:37We understand how China is spreading all over the world and they're the biggest threat.

04:43But Chen says that ties with China require more finesse so that the U.S. does not end

04:49up harming its own Chinese American population.

04:52We understand that China is an adversary, but we are not trying to scapegoat anyone

04:56who's of Chinese descent.

04:58And as someone who is Taiwanese American, I think that is really, really important.

05:02As Election Day draws nearer, one thing seems certain.

05:06The U.S. will be looking to toughen up on China, no matter who is voted in as the country's

05:12next president.

05:13Devin Tsai, Jeremy Olivier and Leslie Liao in California for Taiwan Plus.

05:19For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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