Asia Matters for America
America Matters for Asia
Explore US-Asia National and Local Connections
An initiative of the East-West Center and Asia Matters for America partners and stakeholders
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.
"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…
"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…
“Mike Pence: (32:06): They have a $2 trillion version of the Green New Deal, Susan, that your newspaper, USA Today, said really wasn’t that very different from the original Green New Deal. More taxes, more regulation, banning fracking, abolishing fossil fuel, crushing American energy and economic surrender to China is a prescription for economic decline. President Trump and I will keep America growing, the V-shape recovery that’s underway right now will continue with four more years of President Donald Trump [crosstalk 00:32:37] […]
Kamala Harris…
"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…
"Perhaps the greatest challenge NATO will face in the coming decades is how we must all adjust to the rise of the People’s Republic of China. And adjust we must. For determining how to meet the challenge of Chinese 5G technology, meet the challenge of the easy money offered by China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is a challenge European allies must contend with every day.
Whether we like it or not, the implications of China’s rise will profoundly affect the choices NATO members will face…
"And also, finally, religious persecution is growing in the world’s most populous country as well. The State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom report labeled China as a religious freedom violator every year since 1999.
As many of you know, Chinese authorities have banned the sale of Christian Bibles; they’ve destroyed thousands of crosses and other Church symbols; and they have jailed Christian pastors. And let me make you a promise: As we work toward a more free and fair trading relationship with China, our administration…
"So I’ll be talking about a lot of — to a lot of people. Perhaps President Putin. Perhaps President Xi of China. My people right now are in China. We’re negotiating the trade deal. We’ll see what happens. But we’re doing very well.
Q How did that round of talks go?
THE PRESIDENT: I think it’s going very well. I mean, the trade deal is going very well. We’ll see what happens. But it’s going very well. They’re in China right now, the highest level…
"Q On the China trade deal, once you have an agreement with President Xi, will you immediately lift the China tariffs? Will you remove the tariffs right away?
THE PRESIDENT: No. We’re not talking about removing them. We’re talking about leaving them and for a substantial period of time, because we have to make sure that if we do the deal with China, that China lives by the deal. Because they’ve had a lot of problems living by certain deals and we have to make…
"We took over a mess. We took over a mess with North Korea. We took over a mess in the Middle East. We took over. A lot of bad things were happening and the economy was not doing well. It was heading in the wrong direction. You remember that. It was going to go bad, and then we opened up with the regulation cuts and all of the other things we’ve done, including the big tax cut. (Applause.) But it made a big difference. Made…
"Vice President Pence spoke yesterday with Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters of New Zealand. Vice President Pence expressed his condolences on behalf of the American people for the despicable terror attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Vice President also affirmed the President’s solidarity with New Zealand and our cooperation in ensuring that all perpetrators are brought to justice. These acts of hate have no place in the diverse and tolerant society for which New Zealand is justly known."
"Q What are the prospects now on the summit with President Xi this month or next month?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re doing very well with China talks. China talks are doing very well. We’ll see what happens. If it’s not a deal that’s a great deal for us, we’re not going to make it. But I would say that we’re moving along at a very high level. We’re getting what we have to get, and I think we’re getting it relatively quickly.So the China talks are…
"Q Mr. President, we’re hearing rumblings from China that they’re not really positive about a trade deal and that perhaps (inaudible) may not happen. Where is that?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven’t heard that. I think they’re doing well. But if it happened that way, we’ll do even better. We’ll do very well either way, with or without a deal. But you’re telling me something that I have not heard.
Q Do you feel confident that you can get a trade deal with China?
THE…
"And the truth is, that effort for peace is nowhere more evident than in the progress that we’ve made in the Indo-Pacific over the last two years. It’s remarkable to think that when I stood at this podium two years ago, North Korea was engaged in regular nuclear tests, launching missiles over Japan, threatening the United States and our allies.
Faced with this threat, President Trump rallied the world around an unprecedented pressure campaign. And the world has witnessed the results: No more nuclear tests…
"Well, Mr. President, thank you very much. This is great, great honor. And I send our warmest regards from all Americans. Our country, like your country, is doing very, very well. Our economy is probably as good as it’s ever been; maybe the best it’s been. And unemployment and all of the numbers that you would look at are at historically positive numbers.
And so I just see what you’ve done, and I’ve — I’m very proud of what you’ve done. And I’m very proud…
"Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. The trip has been beautiful. We have a very big meeting planned tonight, as you know, with North Korea and Chairman Kim. And I think it may very well turn out to be very successful. It helps that it’s in Vietnam because you’ve shown something that the world is really getting to see the incredible job that you’ve done in Vietnam in a very short period of time.
Coming in from the airport, seeing everything that’s been happening…
"One of the things that Ambassador Lighthizer and Steve, and all of the people that are working with China — the fentanyl is a tremendous problem. It seems to be made 100 percent in China. A hundred percent. Now, China is paying us, right now, billions and billions of dollars of tariffs a month. Every month, billions of dollars. I love it. Personally, I love it. But they’re paying billions of dollars. And it’s hurting them; it’s not good for them.
And I said to…
"And I’ll give you a little advance information. I see Steve Mnuchin is here, and Ambassador Lighthizer. We just left a big meeting with China, and we just put out a statement, and we’re doing very well with China. It was a long weekend. They decided to stay for two and a half more days. They’ll probably be leaving late tonight; they’re going back. And if all works well, we’re going to have some very big news over the next week or two.
And it’s…
"PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to be with the Vice Premier of China, a very highly respected man in China. And we’re negotiating trade and the trade agreement. And we have many representatives from China and — as you’d know, and most of you know who they are — many representatives from the United States.
I think we’re getting along very well. Ultimately, I think the biggest decisions and some even smaller decisions will be made by President Xi and…
"Q Mr. President, there’s another round of trade talks starting this week here in Washington.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s right.
Q How confident are you that it will be finished by March 1? Or are you considering extending that deadline?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they are very complex talks. They’re going very well. We’re asking for everything that anybody has ever even suggested. These are not just, you know, “let’s sell corn or let’s do this.” It’s going to be selling corn but a lot of it…
"I had a great conversation this morning with President Moon of South Korea. And we obviously discussed the upcoming trip next week, where we’re going Hanoi, in Vietnam. And I look forward to be with Chairman Kim, and I think a lot of things will come out of it.
We had a tremendous first summit. That was really breaking the ice, but a lot of things came from that, including good relationships. And we’re looking forward to having a very good meeting. And President Moon…
"We have a big team over in China right now, and they’re working very hard, dealing with the Chinese. We want very much to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. But the tariffs are bringing a tremendous amount of money to our Treasury. And as you read, of the 21 points — and actually, the number would be 25 now, on the areas that are taxed at 25. China is paying for 21, and we’re paying for 4. So that’s pretty good.
But we’re…
"To build on our incredible economic success, one priority is paramount — reversing decades of calamitous trade policies.
We are now making it clear to China that after years of targeting our industries, and stealing our intellectual property, the theft of American jobs and wealth has come to an end.
Therefore, we recently imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods — and now our Treasury is receiving billions of dollars a month from a country that never gave us a dime. But I don’t…
"As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in 15 months. If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a…
"Melania and I send our greetings to those celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Today, people across the United States and around the world mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year with spectacular fireworks displays, joyful festivals, and family gatherings. This is a sacred time for many people of Asian descent, and it is an opportunity for all Americans to honor the important contributions these communities have made to the story of American greatness.
As families, friends, and loved ones gather to welcome the Year…
"MARGARET BRENNAN: North Korea. When and where are you going to meet Kim Jong Un?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I won't tell you yet, but you'll be finding out probably State of the Union or shortly before. But the meeting is set. He's looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it. We've made tremendous progress. If you remember, before I became president, it looked like we were going to war with North Korea. Now we have a very good relationship. The hostages are back. Okay…
"It’s a great honor to have the Vice Premier of China with us, and also the Vice Minister of Trade of China. We have had long discussions. This has been going on for quite some time. It will be, by far, if it happens, the biggest deal ever made — not only the biggest trade deal ever made. It will be the biggest trade deal by far, but it’ll also be the biggest deal ever made. The two largest countries doing a trade deal. There…
I will be talking a lot about reciprocal trade over the next six years. Hopefully, we’ll have it done in two years or less. And we will see deficits down to a level that would really — you know, we talk about “Make America Great Again”; we have to do these things to make America great again. Because we can’t lose almost $800 billion on trade, like has been done for many years. And it’s been numbers — they varied anywhere from $300 billion to…
"We had a very good meeting yesterday with North Korea. That was an incredible meeting. It lasted almost two hours. And we’ve agreed to meet sometime probably at the end of February. We’ve picked the country, but we’ll be announcing it in the future.
Kim Jong Un is looking very forward to it and so am I. We’ve made a lot of progress that has not been reported by the media, but we have made a lot of progress as far as denuclearization is concerned…
"Q Mr. President, what was your take from last week’s talks with China about trade?
THE PRESIDENT: We’re doing very well with China. They’re having a hard time with their economy because of the tariffs. We’re doing very well with our economy. We’re at records — our unemployment numbers just hit a record, another record. We’re doing extremely well, as a country. We’re doing better than any country right now, anywhere in the world.
China wants to negotiate. I have a great relationship with President…
"We are replacing one-sided, unfair trade deals. We have so many nations — it’s a one-sided deal. With China, every year, for many years, we’re losing $375 billion — not million, billion dollars. We’re working on that very strongly. You see what’s going on. We’re doing very well. [...] But, look, I’m not blaming them. I don’t blame China. I mean, China — $375 billion a year, we lose. It’s really more than that, but that’s like the conservative number. I think it’s $504 [billion]…
"Q Mr. President, what do you expect out of the China talks on trade this week in Beijing?
THE PRESIDENT: The China talks are going very well. I spoke to President Xi recently. I really believe they want to make a deal. The tariffs have absolutely hurt China very badly. But our country is taking in a lot of money through tariffs. A lot of money. A lot of tariffs; steel-dumping tariffs and others.
But I think China wants to get it resolved. Their economy…
"One of the other things I’d like to mention is I had a very successful meeting, about a month ago, with President Xi in Argentina. The President of China. And he and I had a meeting that was going to be 45 minutes; it lasted close to four hours. It was very successful.
One of the things I asked him to do was fentanyl, if you would criminalize it, because it’s not criminal. And China has very strong criminal penalties. It’s called the death penalty…
"I just got a great letter from Kim Jong Un. And those few people that I’ve shown this letter to — they’ve never written letters like that. This letter is a great letter. We’ve made a lot of progress with North Korea and Kim Jong Un. And Chairman Kim has been — we’ve had a — we’ve really established a very good relationship. A lot of good things are happening.
And I never said speed. Look, it’s been this way for 80-plus years. We had…
"Would-be rivals, for their part, have watched and learned, and they are hard at work developing technologies and tactics to leapfrog the United States, investing heavily in such areas as robotics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and quantum computing. China is making massive bets in these and other areas in an effort to surpass the United States as a global technological power. Whether the United States will maintain its edge and harness these technologies for good remains an open question. [...] Democracy is running headlong…