Washington — In his short time in the U.S. Senate, J.D. Vance, the newly tapped Republican vice presidential nominee, has been a hawk on China.

He has introduced legislation to restrict Chinese access to U.S. financial markets and to protect U.S. higher education from Chinese influence.

In an interview with Fox News shortly after being named as former President Donald Trump’s running mate on Monday, Vance called China “the biggest threat” to the United States.

When asked about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and Kyiv to “bring this thing to a rapid close so America can focus on the real issue, which is China.”

“That’s the biggest threat to our country and we are completely distracted from it,” said Vance, a staunch supporter of Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.

The 39-year-old author and venture capitalist rose to fame with his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” He advocates for a hands-off approach to foreign policy and is dubious about military intervention.

Tariffs and more tariffs

Both Trump and Vance have supported strong tariffs on China. In an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” news program in May, Vance said the U.S. needs to apply across-the-board tariffs on imports.

“If you apply tariffs, really what it is you’re saying [is] that we’re going to penalize you for using slave labor in China and importing that stuff in the United States. What you end up doing is, you end up making more stuff in America, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio and in Michigan,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly accused China of stealing manufacturing jobs from the U.S., especially those jobs in the Midwestern part of the country.

“Vance has supported more economic restrictions and tariffs on Chinese imports and investments,” Dean Chen, a professor of political science at the Ramapo College of New Jersey, told VOA. “Hence, I expect his position on China to be in line with Trump nationalists in their potential new administration.”

Trump has promised that, if elected, he would impose 10% across-the-board levies on imported goods and a tariff of 60% or higher on Chinese goods to protect American industries.

Joel Goldstein, professor emeritus of law at Saint Louis University and an expert on the vice presidency, said Vance was selected because he is “a very loyal supporter who has embraced Trump’s policies and style and who seems disposed to defend Trump’s words and conduct.”

“The choice seems designed to appeal to Trump’s MAGA base, not to unify the Republican Party or the nation,” he told VOA.

Taiwan

Experts say Vance might be more of an isolationist than Trump, as Vance was vehemently opposed to funding the war in Ukraine.

“He previously served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq and felt that the lessons from that war should prevent future entanglements,” Chen said.

Chen added that whether that attitude translates to lessened support for a Taiwan military contingency remains to be seen.

“We all know that Trump has been clear that he won’t announce whether he would send troops to help Taiwan should Beijing invade the island democracy, saying that a lucid explanation would undercut his negotiating position,” he said. “I expect Vance to toe the same line as President Trump.”

Attracting Rust Belt voters

Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio. He served in the Marine Corps before attending The Ohio State University and Yale Law School.

His 2016 bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” detailed his family’s struggles with poverty, addiction and instability. The book focuses on the hardship faced by white working-class people in the Rust Belt — the manufacturing region in the U.S. that includes parts of the Northeast and Midwest and has experienced economic decline and population loss.

“Senator Vance’s life story and diverse accomplishments are impressive,” Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, told VOA.

“He not only is from a ‘red’ Republican state, but one that is near the battleground state of Pennsylvania and may be seen as appealing to many more rural and smaller town residents in much of the Middle West,” Hult said.

In the 2020 presidential election, Trump lost Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, three important swing states along the Rust Belt.

Hult said that in most presidential elections, the choice of running mates makes little difference in voting results.

“That, of course, may differ in 2024, given the age of the two major party candidates and in light of Saturday’s assassination attempt,” she added.
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