Both candidates failed to answer the question regarding ...

[Laelth]

... the essential nature of the relationship between the United States and China (adversary, ally, trading partner, or what?). Both candidates ducked this question. I don’t blame them for ducking the question, personally.

What do you think? What SHOULD be the essential nature of our relationship with China? How should we describe it? What should our diplomatic posture be?



-Laelth

[MFM008]

1. Personally

I dont care.
COVID IS THE REAL ISSUE.

[Statistical]

2. In one word ... "complicated"

China isn't out friend but it is the largest economy and a rising superpower. So yeah they are an adversary and also a trading partner and a military threat all rolled in one.

[FakeNoose]

3. It's not a fair question because it can't be answered in 2 minutes

So many issues involved - social, political, economic, cultural. Doctoral dissertations are written on this subject, it's way too complicated for this debate.

[Blue_true]

4. Like it or not, China is a first world country now.

Our economy is very dependent on trade with China, but their rules on our access are lopsided. This is what I believe.

We need to trade with China, but also encourage the country to look more to internal consumption versus exports. Unfortunately, we have not historically done a good jobs of raising the living standards and economic status of all our citizens.

We should have frank discussions with China about how it deals with it’s nearest neighbors, while realizing that China faced a history of invasion from it’s near neighbors, so there is some historical animosity that we need to push China to get past.

In essence, China is a world leader now. We need to talk frankly and demand that the country act like a world leader and stop some of the bullying that it does (though, again, our hands are not clean relative to our southern neighbors).