Joe Biden (D-DE), presidential runningmate for Dem nominee and well-favored Obama, and his stance on China:
2000. Voted for the US-China Trade Relations Act, to normalize trade relations with China.
2001. Speech to the Asia Pacific Council of the American Chambers of Commerce: "Our top priority should remain integrating China into the community of nations, articulating the rules of the road, and then holding the Chinese government accountable for its actions."
2007. Democratic debate: “I've been pushing, on the Foreign Relations Committee for the last seven years, that we hold China accountable at the United Nations. At the UN, we won't even designate China as a violator of human rights. Now, what's the deal there? We talk about competition in terms of trade. It's capitulation, not competition. Name me another country in the world that we would allow to conduct themselves the way China has, and not call them on the carpet at the UN.”
On imported toys from China: “If I were president, I’d shut down any imports from China, period, in terms of their toys — flat shut it down. Imagine if this was Morocco selling us these toys, we would have shut it down a year ago. They have mortgage on our house because Bush mortgaged us to a $1 trillion to them. He is responsible for this. This is outrageous.”
2008. Chaired a Hearing on US-China Relations, prescribing an “intense, sustained, high-level engagement between the US and China across every issue area” with particular importance on two key areas of energy and the environment.
It looks as though Biden's stance is a relatively conventional one: engage to trade, no tolerance for human rights violations. The tone is equal parts proponent to change/optimism for a new world order using focused engagement, and a strong push to re-position the US in a position to empower democracy and empower the country to fulfill its interests in free trade, energy, and the environment. Whether he softens and becomes more sympathetic to one pole, we will see. So far, sounds like Obama's choice in Biden is preemptively setting up a face to run the Bad Cop plays. Someone has to!
