China enters the 2008 campaign
One issue that has been heretofore lurking quietly in the background of the 2008 campaign has been China. No more. As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton set their sights on Midwestern states hid hard by job losses, China has begun to crop up more frequently on the campaign trail. Here’s a union supporter of the ...
One issue that has been heretofore lurking quietly in the background of the 2008 campaign has been China. No more. As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton set their sights on Midwestern states hid hard by job losses, China has begun to crop up more frequently on the campaign trail. Here's a union supporter of the Obama campaign today, in a statement condemning the granting of "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) to China:
One issue that has been heretofore lurking quietly in the background of the 2008 campaign has been China. No more. As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton set their sights on Midwestern states hid hard by job losses, China has begun to crop up more frequently on the campaign trail. Here’s a union supporter of the Obama campaign today, in a statement condemning the granting of "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) to China:
Ohio workers know the truth about NAFTA — Ohio ranks 5th among all states in the number of jobs and opportunities lost due to the rising trade deficit with Canada and Mexico since the passage of NAFTA. Ohio lost nearly 50,000 jobs due to NAFTA alone. And they know that PNTR did not create leverage for the U.S. over China, it led the way to a massive trade deficit, unenforced trade laws, and more Americans looking for work.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. A number of other tough issues for China’s PR machine are only going to gain prominence as the campaign progresses. You can expect boilerplate language from any of the candidates about the need to "engage" China, followed by some cathartic bashing of China’s human-rights record, its relationship with Sudan, its currency manipulation, its military spending, etc. So, are the Chinese big enough to shrug it all off as political rhetoric?
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