Republicans Have Sharpened Their Swords: Obama's Failures with China

In recent days, the Republicans — Obama’s competitors in the presidential elections — have turned to Obama’s broken economic policies in China as leverage for their campaigns. According to the Washington Post, the oven that is the 2012 presidential election is getting hotter. In returning the economy to a more usual condition, the Obama administration had been winning in this vicious game. Now the Republicans are in pursuit of a more severe stance against China, so that they can garner more votes by exploiting Obama’s weakness in coping with the rising power of China.

In the first stage of the campaigns, China had been one of the main points of discussion for the candidates, and this topic had also become one of their main mental concerns. The Yuan currency bill, which had been intended as Congress’ punishment for China, shows the Americans’ hasty actions against China.

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a Republican nominee for tyhe presidency, said, “On day one — I’ve indicated, day one — I will issue an executive order identifying China as a currency manipulator. We’ll bring an action against them in front of the WTO for manipulating their currency, and we will go after them.” In an interview with the Washington Post, Romney accused China of stealing American technology, preventing American companies from entering China and hacking American computers.

Jon Huntsman, a Republican and former ambassador to China also said, “China has closed their economy to America.” Huntsman was the ambassador to China until April. His comments at the end of his tenure about Chinese officials increased tensions between America and China.

Rick Santorum, a former Republican senator, with emphasis on the military and economic challenges between America and China also explicitly said, “I want to beat China.”

Michele Bachmann, also a Republican, accused China of blinding American satellites with lasers.

China has become one of the main discussion points of Obama’s opponents. Military issues between the two countries and the currency rate challenge have affected the American election campaigns.