In addition to cliché-laden China-bashing, the two U.S. presidential candidates said during their final televised debate that the United States “can be a partner with China,” and does not have to be China’s “adversary.”
It is the first time in the U.S. political history that China has been chosen as a topic for the presidential debate, indicating that properly handling China-U.S. relations has indeed become a significant challenge facing U.S. politicians in the 2012 election year.
Regrettably, both candidates adopted the political tactic of appearing tough with China, while leaving rationality and objectivity behind.
Henry Kissinger, former U.S. secretary of state, said that both candidates had been making irresponsible comments and using “extremely deplorable” language about China during their campaigns.
However, both candidates expressed their will to cooperate with China during the final presidential debate. This shows that from a practical point of view, both the Democratic and Republican parties have realized that completely stopping cooperating with China or even becoming China’s adversary does not serve U.S. interests.
