China Becomes Target of Another US Presidential Race
By wchung | 13 Mar, 2026

It’s no surprise that China has again emerged as an issue in the presidential campaign. The working class feels threatened by Chinese imports and candidates on both sides are eager to court them as one of the biggest bloc of swing voters.

US presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who won the Republican primary in Florida, is, of all the remaining candidates in the race, possibly the one most hostile towards China. Romney has attributed the economic problems of the United States to China’s unfair trade practices and believes that China has stolen American intellectual property rights, patents, brands and corporate secrets.

Romney has said that if he becomes president, he will list China as a currency manipulator and impose high tariffs on imports from the country. He also detailed economic sanctions against China in a 160-page document that outlines 59 plans of action to boost US jobs and promote economic growth.

China policy has become a focal issue in the US presidential election campaign after the China Threat theory emerged in the 1990s. Almost all Republican candidates have said in primary debates that China’s economic expansion is the main cause of unemployment in the United States.

In late January, President Obama announced in his third State of the Union address that his administration will set up a trade enforcement unit to investigate unfair trade practices on the part of China. Obama’s stance towards China in the speech was tougher than in the previous two State of the Union speeches, reflecting the way the narrative of this year’s presidential race is being framed.

In addition, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner publicly condemned Beijing for subsidizing state-run enterprises and manipulating the renminbi, hurting its trade partners and distorting the global trade system.

In November 2011, a survey by a US mainstream media outlet showed that about 60% of Americans believe China’s economic expansion has severely hurt US interests. The change in Obama’s attitude toward Beijing seems therefore to be motivated by public opinion.

According to Foreign Policy magazine, if the two US political parties adopt a hardline attitude toward China, this is a stance that may win votes from the country’s white lower-middle class.

China-US relations are expected to face a tough challenge in the coming years regardless of who wins the US presidential election.