Biden takes aim at Trump’s China ‘failures’ in next phase of his 2020 US presidential race
- Joe Biden to hammer Donald Trump's ‘tough talk, weak action’ on China, top adviser says
- Biden’s team argues that Trump is helping China by undermining US relations with traditional allies
US President Donald Trump has seized on Americans’ growing animosity toward China over the coronavirus outbreak to underpin his re-election pitch, arguing he will hit Beijing harder than anyone.
That is just tough talk hardly substantiated by action, says Jake Sullivan, a senior adviser to presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Biden’s campaign is preparing to roll out policies on how his future administration would better deal with China and will continue to show how Trump is weak on America’s top geopolitical and economic competitor, Sullivan said in an interview.
“The vice-president intends to do two things: hold Trump accountable for a catastrophic set of failures in his approach to China, and a colossal gap between tough talk and weak action,” said Sullivan, one of several former Obama administration officials who comprise Biden’s foreign policy team. Biden served as President Barack Obama’s No. 2 for eight years.
On the coronavirus, Biden will keep criticising Trump for repeatedly praising China’s President Xi Jinping despite global concerns over a lack of transparency on the severity of the crisis, Sullivan said.