Speaking at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Donald Trump invoked China 14 times. In the course of a 92-minute address, the former president recycled his widely criticized term “China virus” for the COVID-19 pandemic, said China was stealing auto jobs, and touted how his administration had China beat on a variety of fronts.
China also made it into the major addresses at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. On the first night, President Joe Biden said that on coming into office, “the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States.”
“No one is saying that now,” he added.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris echoed this sentiment on the final night, claiming that if elected she would ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century.”
As an expert on how China is represented in U.S. media culture and politics, I believe the fact that China is edging into the election rhetoric is of little surprise – nor is the imbalance in emphasis given to the country by the Democratic and Republican tickets, respectively.
A tried and tested election ploy
Since Biden’s exit from the presidential race, the Democratic candidates have seemingly limited their references to China on the campaign trail, in contrast with their Republican counterparts.
Trump and his Republican allies have long mobilized the use of China to position themselves as anti-Communist and to burnish their “America first” credentials. For Trump, especially, it is a tried and tested electoral ploy. In the run-up to the 2016 election, Trump invoked China so frequently that The Huffington Post produced a mashup video of the candidate repeating “China” 234 times.
This has continued into the current election cycle.
Aside from the frequent mentions in the speeches by Trump and others, the 2024 GOP platform emphasizes “Secure Strategic Independence from China” as a key commitment, through limiting trade and investment as well as “countering China” to “return Peace through Strength.” In contrast, other perceived adversaries such as Russia and Iran received no mention in the official Republican platform.
Meanwhile, Project 2025 – the conservative Heritage Foundation’s policy plan often associated with Trump, although his campaign denies the connection – mentions China no fewer than 483 times in a 922-page document. The project’s official website even highlights the goal to “take on China” on the “About” page.
Neither ‘dragon slayer’ nor ‘panda hugger’
It was not, therefore, surprising that Trump-supporting elements of the U.S. media pounced on news that Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota chosen to be Harris’ running mate, has previously taught in China and traveled there an estimated 30 times since 1989, including on his honeymoon.
On Aug. 16, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee chair, Republican James Comer, opened an investigation into Walz’s “longstanding connections” to China.
The Great Walz of China? Hardly
The ties that some Republicans find suspicious include Walz’s running Educational Travel Adventures with his wife, Gwen Walz, from 1994 to 2003. The company they founded helped students from small-town America travel to China to learn about the country’s history and culture. Walz also served on the human rights-monitoring Congressional-Executive Commission on China during his time as a House representative.
Speaking at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Donald Trump invoked China 14 times. In the course of a 92-minute address, the former president recycled his widely criticized term “China virus” for the COVID-19 pandemic, said China was stealing auto jobs, and touted how his administration had China beat on a variety of fronts.
China also made it into the major addresses at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. On the first night, President Joe Biden said that on coming into office, “the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States.”
“No one is saying that now,” he added.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris echoed this sentiment on the final night, claiming that if elected she would ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century.”
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