Sarah Palin is considered by many to be a Republican front-runner as a candidate for the 2012 Presidential elections. If she does decide to run, understanding her conception of foreign policy will be very important. While in New Delhi, India, Palin revealed some of her thoughts concerning China. From Time:
In her speech titled “My Vision of America,” the former Governor of Alaska, who was on her first trip to India, did simply articulate her vision of America but touched on a range of topics from the rise of China, energy independence, Indian-American ties, and, in a rather timely fashion, the use of force in the Arab world.
While lauding India’s democratic rise and economic liberalization, she expressed concern over China’s growing economic influence and militarization. She described Chinese ownership of American debt as a “dangerous” and questioned the country’s new military buildup. “I personally have huge military concerns about China. They are stockpiling ballistic missiles, submarines, new age ultra modern fighter aircraft. Is that all for a defensive posture? How could that be when you don’t see a tangible outside threat to that country?”
Another potential Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, also repeatedly criticized China. From a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer:
TRUMP: And I certainly wouldn’t be saying, as I’ve been hearing you for the last few minutes, as your representatives and people on the show have been saying, oh, we’re making progress with China.
These are not our friends. These are our enemies. These are not people that understand niceness. And the only thing you can do, Wolf, to get their attention is to say either we’re not going to trade with you any further or, in the alternative, we’re going to tax your products as they come into the United States.
It seems that at the very least, U.S.-China relations will be a big issue for the upcoming American presidential elections.
