Trump’s VP pick Vance points to tough China policy, analysts say
WASHINGTON—Donald Trump’s choice of populist Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate provides more evidence of what would be a tough US stance on China in a second Trump administration, analysts said.
Vance, who shortly after his selection on Monday called China the “biggest threat” facing the United States, shares the Republican candidate’s belief that China’s rise as the world’s factory ruined America’s manufacturing sector.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Vance, who has opposed US funding for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion, said Trump would prioritize a negotiated end to that crisis so the United States could focus on the “real issue” of China.
“That’s the biggest threat to our country and we are completely distracted from it,” Vance said of China.
The prospect of intensifying trade tensions under a second Trump administration has hit Chinese markets hard in the past two days, with some analysts pointing to the selection of Vance as presidential running mate as a reason.
His comments also triggered a response from Beijing, which generally seeks to distance itself from political rhetoric around US presidential campaigns.
“We are always opposed to the United States making China an issue in elections,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.
Trade war
Trump launched a trade war against China while in the White House, and as a candidate this year the former president has suggested he would impose tariffs of 60 percent or higher on all Chinese goods.
In the US political system, vice presidents typically have limited direct influence on foreign policy. Vance, 39, has acknowledged the support role he would play to a President Trump.
“You’ve got to be a person he can trust, he can rely on, to actually advance the agenda,” he said of the vice presidency.
After serving as a Marine, attending Yale Law School and working as a venture capitalist in San Francisco, Vance rose to prominence thanks to his 2016 book “Hillbilly Elegy,” in which he explored the problems of his hometown and attempted to explain Trump’s popularity among impoverished white Americans.
“Vance’s remarks yesterday were completely in accordance with Trump’s stated views and Trump likes it that way,” said Jeff Moon, a trade consultant and a former assistant US trade representative for China.
