Former US vice president Mike Pence on Monday said that China is close to becoming an “evil empire,” as he called for increased arms sales to Taiwan.
“China is the greatest strategic and economic threat facing the United States in the 21st Century,” Pence said in a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington. “China may not yet be an evil empire — but it is working hard to become one.”
Pence called for increased arms sales to Taiwan, breaking off US economic ties with essential Chinese industries, restricting Chinese nationals working in US technological companies to reduce intellectual property theft and a nationwide ban on Chinese-owned social media TikTok.
Photo: AFP
The Republicans campaigning to become the party’s pick for the election in November next year are almost in unanimous agreement that China is the leading foreign foe of the US.
In the Republican race, the attacks are more frequent and the proposals bolder, political operatives said, thanks to a shift in US public opinion.
About 50 percent of Americans identify China as the greatest threat to the US, a Pew Research poll released in late July showed.
Russia was next, according to 17 percent of respondents.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech investor in the race, is due to deliver a speech tomorrow in which he would lay out his plan for securing economic independence from China.
Fellow rival and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is also due to give a foreign policy speech soon, his aides said.
He is expected to lay out an aggressive stance toward China.
DeSantis has already called for ending normal trade relations with China.
In Florida, he has banned TikTok from government and school-issued devices.
In his speech, Pence amplified a split within the Republican candidates over the war in Ukraine and how China would view the continued US response to Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
Pence said it was vital that the US gives all military support necessary to Ukraine so it can defeat Russian forces.
Without naming them, Pence decried what he called the “isolationism” of some rivals — such as Ramaswamy, DeSantis and former US president Donald Trump — who have questioned unchecked military and economic support for Ukraine.
“Consider what would happen if the Republican appeasers are successful in pulling support for Ukraine,” Pence said. “What message would it send to China, except a giant, flashing green light for the Chinese invasion of Taiwan.”
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