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.
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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