Vance, Trump’s choice for vice president, sees China as biggest threat

Vance called China the “biggest threat” to the United States in an interview with Fox News on Monday and said Washington’s continued support of Ukraine in its war with Russia “completely distracts” the United States from the “real problem.”

Donald Trump, now officially the Republican presidential candidate in November’s election, has made a hardline approach to China a centerpiece of his previous administration’s foreign policy, triggering a trade war with Beijing after raising tariffs on Chinese imports.

Here’s what new vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance has to say about the world’s second-largest economy.

tariffs and trade

Vance, who blamed China for U.S. job losses during the 2021 Senate campaign, has recently spoken about bringing jobs back to the U.S. and protecting U.S. industry “from all games“ in a CBS interview in May.

Trump said that if he is re-elected, he will further increase tariffs on China, possibly as high as 60%.

Vance has publicly supported Trump’s call for higher tariffs on China, although he has not publicly committed to specific numbers.

Congressional legislation

Since becoming an Ohio senator, Vance has introduced legislation that would restrict China’s access to U.S. financial markets and exchanges, Accuses China of violating international law and manipulating international currencies.

He has also proposed other legislation that would tighten rules on foreign donations to U.S. higher education institutions, citing concerns about the influence the Chinese government can exert on U.S. universities and students.

climate change

Vance is critical of efforts related to climate change, such as the push to use more renewable energy. He questioned whether humans are solely responsible for climate change, a marked change from his stance in 2020, when he blamed China’s “unrestrained emissions” for the world’s climate problems.

Vance also introduced legislation that would eliminate U.S. subsidies for electric vehicles and instead provide subsidies for internal combustion engine vehicles built with U.S. parts or labor.

Ukraine vs Taiwan

At this year’s Munich Security Conference, Vance believed that U.S. military efforts should not be concentrated in Europe, but in East Asia. He believed that East Asia will be the focus of U.S. foreign policy in the next few decades. Vance believes that the United States launched Patriot missiles into Ukraine at the expense of Taiwan.

in another interview fox news In April 2023, Vance revealed that he largely supported arming Taiwan because he believed China’s invasion of Taiwan would have a negative impact on the United States because of the self-governing island’s important role in the semiconductor industry.

“If Taiwan fell to China, it would cause a Great Depression in this country. We have to prevent that from happening,” Vance said on “Fox & Friends” at the time.

Vance also criticized Taiwan’s control of the chip industry, saying “Taiwan controls the U.S. information technology industry because we allow them to manufacture all of our computer chips.”