TradePost Archives > October 1, 2008 > this article

Obama, McCain outline policies on China

September 22, 2008
World Trade\Interactive

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain recently outlined what U.S. policy toward China might look like under their respective administrations. In articles published in the October 2008 issue of the American Chamber of Commerce in China’s China Brief, the two senators focused primarily on the bilateral economic relationship but touched on issues such as climate change, defense, security and human rights as well. Their comments indicate that the basic framework for U.S.-China trade relations is not expected to change significantly, regardless of which one is elected, and that the issues each will emphasize and the methods they will use to address them are likely to be similar.

Both Obama and McCain spoke to the steps the U.S. must take to remain competitive with China. Obama emphasized ending the “fiscal irresponsibility of recent years that has led to record high deficits and a record low national savings rate” and investing more in “infrastructure, education, health care, science and technology.” McCain rejected the idea of “throwing up protectionist walls that will leave us all worse off,” noting that the U.S. “has never won respect or created jobs by retreating from free trade, and we cannot start doing so now.” But he recognized that open trade does not benefit everyone and therefore stressed the need for “education, retraining and help for displaced workers, regardless of whether their job went away because of trade, technological innovation, or shifts in consumer spending patterns.”

Both candidates also addressed the need to enforce China’s bilateral and international commitments on trade. They each said China needs to reform its currency practices, a step Obama called “central to any rebalancing of our economic relationship with China.” They highlighted the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in China and agreed on the importance of ensuring the safety of goods imported from China. Both expressed a willingness to use the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement process if necessary to enforce U.S. rights, although they also emphasized the importance of high-level dialogue.

Other topics addressed include the following.

• Obama said China “must develop practices that are more environmentally sustainable and less energy intensive, that boost domestic consumption as an engine of growth, that enhance the social safety net, and that encourage indigenous technology innovation.”

• McCain asserted that “some of China’s economic practices … tend to undermine the very international system on which its rise depends” and that it will be important for the U.S. to “build on the areas of overlapping interest to forge a more durable U.S.-China relationship.”

• Obama pledged “more sustained and serious efforts to address [Chinese] regulations that discriminate against foreign investments in major sectors and other unfair trading practices.”

• McCain said the U.S. should “continually expand opportunities as China develops, moving into retail ventures, environmental protection, health, education, financial and other services.”