China emerges as new flashpoint in 2020 campaign

Tough talk on China tends to resonate well with voters.

Unfavorable views of China cut across party lines, with over 90 percent of Americans viewing China’s “power and influence” as a threat to the U.S., according to a recent Pew survey. Yet fewer Democrats hold a negative view of China compared with Republicans — 62 percent to 72 percent, respectively.

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That means Biden may find himself having to walk a fine line when talking about China, with many in the Democratic base worried about increasing discrimination against minority groups like Asian Americans, who have seen a rise in hate crimes against their communities since the coronavirus.

“My alarm always goes off when we use – as a punching bag – other countries in a way that enhances nativism and racism,” said Jonathan Tasini, a Democratic strategist who was a surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign in 2016.

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