2020 US Presidential Candidates on the Indo-Pacific

The 2020 Presidential Candidates on the Indo-Pacific resource highlighted mentions of Indo-Pacific issues by US presidential candidates and nominees in speeches, campaign documents, and debates.

To view statements by President Trump prior to his June 18, 2019 declaration to seek a second term, as well as members of his Cabinet, visit The Trump Administration & US - Indo-Pacific Relations.

Pinned Posts

2020 Democratic Party Platform - Indo-Pacific

"Democrats will take aggressive action against China or any other country that tries to undercut American manufacturing by manipulating their currencies and maintaining a misaligned exchange rate with the dollar, dumping products like steel and aluminum in our markets, or providing unfair subsidies. Unlike President Trump, we will stand up to efforts from China and other state actors to steal America’s intellectual property and will demand China and other countries cease and desist from conducting cyber espionage against our companies. And we will take immediate…

Republican Party Platform [Republican Platform Adopted 2016 Platform at 2020 Convention]

"U.S. Leadership in the Asian Pacific

We are a Pacific nation with economic, military, and cultural ties to all the countries of the oceanic rim and treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand. With them, we look toward the establishment of human rights for the people of North Korea. We urge the government of China to recognize the inevitability of change in the Kim family's slave state and, for everyone's safety against nuclear disaster, to hasten positive change on the Korean…

Final Presidential Debate Between President Trump and Joe Biden - China and North Korea

"Kristen Welker: (09:22)I do want to ask you, Vice-President Biden, about China. Let’s talk about China more broadly. There have, of course, President Trump has said that they should pay for not being fully transparent in regards to the coronavirus. If you were president, would you make China pay? And please be specific, what would that look like?

Joe Biden: (09:41)What I’d make China do is play by the international rules, not like he has done. He has caused the deficit of the…

All Posts

Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure - China and North Korea

"THE PRESIDENT: So I just want to tell you the economy is doing fantastically well. We have people over in China right now. We’re negotiating with China. We’ll see what happens. We’re either going to make a great deal or we’re not going to make a deal at all. But a lot of great things are happening, and including with China. [...]

THE PRESIDENT: So the talks are moving very well with China, but they were often with China. But China always makes a new deal…

Remarks by President Trump at Signing of Safe Third Country Agreement with Guatemala - China and North Korea

"Look, I look at deals that were done with other Presidents and this country, and it’s a disgrace that our country has allowed this to happen — where China, for years and years and years was making from $300 billion to $507 billion a year, okay? Now we’re taking in billions of dollars from China, and it’s all turning around.

Whether a deal is made — you know, they’re going next week; they have more meetings. Meeting after meeting. I don’t think, personally, China would…

Remarks by Vice President Pence at the 2nd Annual Religious Freedom Ministerial - Myanmar [Burma], China, and North Korea

"We’re also standing up for the persecuted Rohingya people in Burma. While that conflict has fallen along ethnic lines, we cannot ignore the rise of militant Buddhism against Muslim and Christian minorities that’s taken place. A brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya has forced more than 700,000 to flee across the border to Bangladesh. And though the United States has repeatedly urged the Burmese government to hold accountable all those responsible, the government has continued to imprison and harass innocent men and women.

Remarks by President Trump in Cabinet Meeting - North Korea

"I could possibly say a couple of things about North Korea. When I took over — when I became President, North Korea was ready to go to war. We were, I think, headed to a war. It would have been very quickly, too. It would have been a very bad war, a very rough war. But I believe we were headed in that one direction. There was no communication. There was no talk. There were nuclear weapons being — and nuclear everything being tested. Constantly…

Joe Biden Interview with CNN - North Korea and China

Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure - China and North Korea

"Q Joe Biden called you a “bully” in that interview last night. What do you think of that?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think I’m bully at all. I just don’t like taking — being taken advantage of by other countries, by pharmaceutical companies, by all of the people that have taken advantage of this country.

You look at what Joe Biden has done with China. We’ve lost our shirts with China and now China is dying to make a deal. So — and we’re taking…

Remarks by President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1:1 Meeting

"PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I want to thank you, Chairman. You hear the power of that voice. Nobody has heard that voice before. He doesn’t do news conferences, in case you haven’t heard. And this was a special moment. This is, I think, really — as President Moon said, this is a historic moment, the fact that we’re meeting.

And I want to thank Chairman Kim for something else. When I put out the social media notification, if he didn’t show up, the press was going…

Remarks by President Trump, Chairman Kim Jong Un, and President Moon in Greeting at the Korean Demilitarized Zone

"PRESIDENT TRUMP: I just want to say that this is my honor. I didn’t really expect it. We were in Japan for the G20. We came over and I said, “Hey, I’m over here. I want to call up Chairman Kim.” And we got to meet. And stepping across that line was a great honor. A lot of progress has been made. A lot of friendships have been made. And this has been in particular a great friendship. So I just want to thank you…

Remarks by President Trump and President Moon of the Republic of Korea Before Restricted Bilateral Meeting

"[PRESIDENT TRUMP:] I just had a meeting with the business leaders of South Korea. And these are not only business leaders here, they’re business leaders throughout the world. They are among the greatest businesspeople anywhere in the world. We went through a lot — Lotte, Samsung — so many that are so — Hyundai — so many that are so respected.

And we talked and we had a fairly short meeting, unfortunately. I wish it could have been longer. But these are very, very highly…