By Toluse Olorunnipa and David Tweed
Vice President Mike PenceVice President Mike Pence will lay out allegations of Chinese election-meddling in a harshly worded speech Thursday, signaling a firmer U.S. pushback against Beijing as trade anxiety weighs on the looming midterm elections.
Pence was expected to accuse China of a whole-of-government approach to sway American public opinion, including spies, tariffs, coercive measures and a propaganda campaign, according to excerpts of a speech he is scheduled to give Thursday.
The speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington represented some of the most critical remarks about China by a high-ranking U.S. official in recent memory.
“Beijing has mobilized covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets to shift Americans’ perception of Chinese policies,” Pence will say in a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington, according to prepared remarks.
“Beijing has mobilized covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets to shift Americans’ perception of Chinese policies,” Pence will say in a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington, according to prepared remarks.
“As a senior career member of our intelligence community recently told me, what the Russians are doing pales in comparison” to China’s actions.
Pence’s speech is the latest sign of deteriorating ties between the U.S. and China, as the two powers tussle over everything from trade to Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Pence’s speech is the latest sign of deteriorating ties between the U.S. and China, as the two powers tussle over everything from trade to Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Election Concerns
The speech comes days after President Trump himself accused China of attempting to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections.
The remarks underscore administration concern that anxiety over the trade battle could hurt Republican performance in the Nov. 6 vote.
“Going into elections, President Trump has got to look like a strong leader,” said Rosita Dellios, an associate international relations professor at Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia.
“Going into elections, President Trump has got to look like a strong leader,” said Rosita Dellios, an associate international relations professor at Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia.
President Trump appears to be gearing up for a protracted trade war, declaring earlier this week that “it’s too early to talk” with China.
“Can’t talk now, because they’re not ready,” President Trump said on Monday after announcing a new trade pact with Canada and Mexico at the White House.
China has responded to President Trump’s decision to levy tariffs on $250 billion of its exports with its own tariffs on U.S. goods, including soybeans and other agricultural products.
China has responded to President Trump’s decision to levy tariffs on $250 billion of its exports with its own tariffs on U.S. goods, including soybeans and other agricultural products.
Pence planned to single out those retaliatory tariffs in his speech on Thursday.
“They specifically targeted industries and states that would play an important role in the 2018 election,” he planned to say, according to the speech excerpts released in advance.
“They specifically targeted industries and states that would play an important role in the 2018 election,” he planned to say, according to the speech excerpts released in advance.
“By one estimate, more than 80 percent of U.S. counties targeted by China voted for President Trump in 2016; now China wants to turn these voters against our administration.”
‘Unsafe and Unprofessional’
Vice President Pence also planned to take on China over its actions in the South China Sea, where the U.S. has criticized the Chinese government for building military bases on reclaimed reefs.
Earlier this week, the U.S. accused China’s navy of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct near an occupied reef in the South China Sea after a Chinese destroyer maneuvered close to the bow of an American warship attempting to assert navigation rights.
Earlier this week, the U.S. accused China’s navy of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct near an occupied reef in the South China Sea after a Chinese destroyer maneuvered close to the bow of an American warship attempting to assert navigation rights.
Navy’s Plan
“Despite such reckless harassment, the United States Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows and our national interests demand,” Pence will say.
“We will not be intimidated; we will not stand down.”
The U.S. Pacific Fleet is drafting plans for a global show of force to warn China and demonstrate resolve to deter Beijing’s military actions, CNN reported Thursday, citing several unidentified U.S. defense officials.
Pence planned to weigh in on Beijing’s effort to diplomatically isolate Taiwan’s China-skeptic president, Tsai Ing-wen.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet is drafting plans for a global show of force to warn China and demonstrate resolve to deter Beijing’s military actions, CNN reported Thursday, citing several unidentified U.S. defense officials.
Pence planned to weigh in on Beijing’s effort to diplomatically isolate Taiwan’s China-skeptic president, Tsai Ing-wen.
The democratically run island, which China considers part of its own territory, has seen Beijing lure away several of its diplomatic partners in recent months.
“While our administration will continue to respect our One-China Policy, as reflected in the three joint communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, let me also say that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people,” he will say, according to the prepared remarks.
“While our administration will continue to respect our One-China Policy, as reflected in the three joint communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, let me also say that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people,” he will say, according to the prepared remarks.
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