The leader of the Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Thursday denounced Washington's China policy as a "total failure," particularly with respect to the spiraling US trade deficit.
"There has never been any good faith on the part of the Chinese to act in a way that is fair, that honors the opportunity that we give them to grow their economy by using our markets for that growth," Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said. "As a result, much sensitive technology, some of it related to weapons of mass destruction, was exported from China to unsafe countries."
Because of misguided US trade policy, "the trade deficit has soared, and religious repression continues, and we are up the creek," she told reporters at a press conference.
"The China policy of the United States -- Democrats' and Republicans' alike -- has been a total failure," she said.
Pelosi said US officials missed a golden opportunity to wield influence on China in the area of human rights and trade a decade and a half ago -- when the trade deficit was not as large.
"Going back 15 years when it was US$2 billion to US$3 billion in a year, I thought it gave us tremendous leverage to stop the Chinese government's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to stop their unfair trade practices, and to stop their human-rights violations," she said.
"Today the trade deficit with China is US$2 billion to US$3 billion a week -- not a year, a week," she said.
"Today they rule the roost. They have an over 150-billion-dollar trade deficit a year with us. ... If they decided, for a day or two, to think about whether they were going to purchase our bonds, we would have a problem in our economy," she said.
Pelosi had words of scorn for "all those geniuses who told us that if we just continue to engage in the same trade relationship with China that there would be freedom in China, and it would stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and they would stop engaging in unfair trade practices."
"The United States had much more leverage early on with the Chinese ... before we gave them Most Favored Nation status permanently with nothing on their side ... before we smoothed the way for them to go into the WTO," she said.
"Our leverage is greatly diminished because of those decisions," Pelosi said, lamenting: "I don't know if you can turn back on it."
Also see stories:
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS