{"id":2010587,"date":"2023-08-24T10:20:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T14:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-candidates-discuss-china-threats-in-first-presidential-debate\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T10:25:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T14:25:35","slug":"republican-candidates-discuss-china-threats-in-first-presidential-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-candidates-discuss-china-threats-in-first-presidential-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Candidates Address China Threats in First Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublican-candidates-discuss-china-threats-in-first-presidential-debate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2010587&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>The eight candidates \u200bat the first Republican presidential debate in Wisconsin discussed China\u2019s\u200d threats against the United States, but some said \u2063more time\u2064 should be spent on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina is the No. 1\u200d threat to our country and \u2063every minute that \u2064these candidates spend talking about the \u2062past instead\u2064 of \u200dabout the future is \u2026 you know who loves it? [President Joe] Biden loves it, but China loves \u2064it,\u201d said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum during the <a href=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/v3ak5c2-fox-news-republican-presidential-primary-debate.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">debate<\/a>, when \u200canswering a question about Jan. \u20626.<\/p>\n<p>After the debate, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/votetimscott\/status\/1694570565305094477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> Fox News that heated arguments among the candidates were a\u2064 distraction from more important topics, including the southern U.S. \u200dborder and China.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-free-gop-means-more-ramaswamy-trends-and-highlights-of-the-first-debate-5479871\">ANALYSIS: Ramaswamy Steals the Spotlight \u200cat \u200bGOP Debate<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/24\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/5-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-presidential-debate-5479819\">5 Takeaways From \u200bthe First Republican Presidential Debate<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/24\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe\u200c didn\u2019t talk long enough about the challenges that we\u200d have with China,\u201d Mr. Scott said. \u201cIt is not \u200bthe strength of China. It\u200d is the weakness of Biden that \u200cis a problem that we face \u2064as a nation. We need\u2064 to dig into some of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-candidates-discuss-china-threats-in-first-presidential-debate\/\" title=\"GOP Candidates Address China Threats in First Debate\">important consequential issues facing<\/a> the American people and not have a food \u2063fight on \u200bstage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the 2024 White House race,\u2063 candidates\u2019 positions on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will likely be one of the determinants for voting behavior.\u2062 According to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/07\/27\/americans-name-china-as-the-country-posing-the-greatest-threat-to-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey<\/a> from the Pew Research Center, 50 percent of\u2064 those polled named China as\u200d the greatest threat to the \u2064United States, a large increase from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2019\/12\/05\/u-s-is-seen-as-a-top-ally-in-many-countries-but-others-view-it-as-a-threat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">24 percent<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>During\u200d the debate, Fox News \u2064co-host Bret Baier listed some of the threats posed by China, including its nuclear arsenal and Navy forces. Mr. Baier also\u2064 pointed \u2062to the\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/2-us-navy-sailors-arrested-accused-of-spying-for-china-5443130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrests of two Navy sailors<\/a> on Aug. 3,\u200b who were accused of passing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pompeo-pushes-investigation-into-kerry-for-leaking-secrets-to-iran\/\" title=\"Pompeo Pushes Investigation Into Kerry for Leaking Secrets to Iran\">sensitive military information<\/a> to Chinese intelligence officers.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018China\u2019s Gas Station\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>When asked how he would deter China as president, Mr. Burgum criticized the Biden administration for being a \u201ccomplete fail,\u201d criticizing recent trips to China by Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/blinken-had-robust-conversation-with-chinas-xi-wrapping-up-a-rare-trip-to-beijing-amid-criticism-5341732\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Antony Blinken<\/a> and Secretary of Treasury <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/yellen-to-chinese-officials-us-national-security-will-not-be-compromised-5383228\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Janet\u2062 Yellen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum participates in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv\u2063 Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on\u200d Aug. 23, 2023. (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cRussia has\u2063 become\u2063 China&#8217;s gas station,\u201d Mr. Burgum said. \u201cChina imports 10 million barrels of \u2062oil a day\u2064 more than any other country in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Biden administration sends Blinken\u2062 [and] Yellen \u200dover there \u2026 They don&#8217;t even bring up energy because they&#8217;re too busy trying to kill\u2063 the U.S. energy here. \u2063And what we need to do is not meetings, not press releases,\u201d Mr. Burgum said.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of press releases, Mr. Burgum suggested providing more arms to Taiwan, a self-ruled island nation that the CCP has\u2062 targeted for take over.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-tsai-ing-wen-u-s-has-troops-stationed-in-taiwan\/\" title=\"President Tsai Ing-wen: U.S. Has Troops Stationed in Taiwan\">anti-ship missiles<\/a> on \u200cTaiwan, \u200cthe way that you\u2063 have a war never start, which is the \u200dgoal, the way you have \u2064peace through strength,\u200b is that you actually have strength, you actually have deterrence,\u201d Mr. Burgum \u2063said. \u201cWhat\u2062 we&#8217;ve got going on in Ukraine is\u2064 an example of when deterrence fails.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Washington is Taipei\u2019s biggest arms supplier. In January, Taiwan\u2019s defense ministry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taiwannews.com.tw\/en\/news\/4777553\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> that the island would buy 100 Sidewinder air-to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secret-recording-allegedly-shows-iranian-foreign-minister-admitting-ukrainian-flight-might-have-been-targeted\/\" title=\"Secret Recording Allegedly Shows Iranian Foreign Minister Admitting Ukrainian Flight Might Have Been Targeted\">-air missiles<\/a>, 60 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and other military equipment, from the United States in a $1.4 billion arms deal.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u200cBlinken and Ms. \u200bYellen are not the only U.S. officials to have\u2064 visited\u200c China\u200b in recent months. In July, U.S. climate envoy \u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/kerry-concludes-china-trip-calling-climate-talks-productive-5408420\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John Kerry<\/a> \u200cspent three days in Beijing \u200dtalking to Chinese officials, and Commerce Secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-commerce-secretary-raimondo-to-visit-china-next-week-for-talks-5478482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gina Raimondo<\/a> is scheduled to visit China beginning on Aug. 27.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A Win for China\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>During the debate, entrepreneur\u2064 Vivek \u2064Ramaswamy drew <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/candidates-clash-over-ukraine-aid-at-gop-debate-5479801\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">criticism<\/a> from other GOP candidates for his stance on not \u2063wanting to offer additional aid to Ukraine\u200b if elected president. He said that breaking up the\u2063 alliance between Russia and China would be more important.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUkraine \u200dis\u200d not a priority for the United States of America,\u201d Mr. Ramaswamy said. \u201cThe real threat we face today is \u200dCommunist China, and we are \u2064driving Russia further into China&#8217;s arms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u200dRamaswamy warned, \u201cThe Russia-China military alliance is the single greatest \u2063threat \u200cwe face. Nobody in either political party is talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Vivek Ramaswamy (L) and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley participate\u200b in the first debate\u200c of the GOP primary season hosted by\u2062 FOX News at \u2064the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Aug. 23, 2023. (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley dismissed Mr. Ramaswamy\u2019s idea, criticizing her rival as wanting to \u201chand Ukraine to Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA win for Russia is a win for China. We have to know that Ukraine is the first line of defense for\u2062 us,\u201d Ms. Haley added. \u200c\u201cHe wants to let China eat Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just weeks before \u200dRussia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin upgraded bilateral \u200cties to a\u200c \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/xi-and-putin-announce-no-limits-partnership-amid-deepening-standoff-with-west-4257515\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no limits<\/a>\u201d partnership. In March, the two leaders \u200cfurther deepened their ties, after signing a series of agreements to further their \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/putin-xi-pledge-deeper-cooperation-amid-concerns-over-growing-alliance-5138337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">strategic cooperation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recently, 11 Russian and Chinese warships\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/china-and-russia-send-warships-near-alaska-in-unprecedented-joint-show-of-force-5447320\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sailed<\/a> together close to the\u2064 coast of\u2063 Alaska, prompting the U.S. Navy to dispatch four \u200bdestroyers to escort the warships out \u2064of U.S. coastal waters.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Ramaswamy has previously said that he is willing to make \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/major-concession-in-ukraine-necessary-to-stop-russia-becoming-closer-to-china-vivek-ramaswamy-5307230\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major concessions<\/a>\u201d to Russia in order to end the war in Ukraine. His \u2063desire to end \u2062the Ukraine war rests on his \u200dargument that China would like to see a weakened Western military force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina wants the Ukraine war to last as long as possible to deplete\u2062 Western\u2064 military capacity before invading Taiwan. It\u2019s working: we think we\u200c appear stronger\u2062 by helping \u2063Ukraine, but we actually become weaker vis-\u00e0-vis China,\u201d \u2063Mr. Ramaswamy <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VivekGRamaswamy\/status\/1654131445089071104\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> on X, formerly known as Twitter, in May.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018An Act of\u2062 War\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The fentanyl\u2063 crisis in the United States came up\u200b during\u200b the\u2062 debate, \u200dwith former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie naming China as\u2062 responsible \u200cfor the drug problem.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne last thing on this fentanyl issue, with China, we can&#8217;t take our eye off of that ball,\u201d Mr. Christie said. \u201cYes, it&#8217;s important that\u2064 we need to secure the border, very important, as I just said, but China is sending these chemicals to these drug cartels, for them to create the fentanyl that is killing hundreds \u200cof thousands of our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Chinese are engaging in an act\u2062 of war against us, \u200bkilling our citizens, we better make that priority one in our conversations with China, and to try to straighten that relationship out,\u201d Mr. Christie continued. \u201cBecause \u200cif we don&#8217;t, we&#8217;re \u2063going to lose\u200d more and more of our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Former New\u200d Jersey Gov.\u2064 Chris Christie participates in the\u200d first debate of the GOP\u200d primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Aug. 23, 2023. (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Fentanyl is a\u2063 synthetic opioid that is 100 times\u200d more potent than \u200bmorphine\u2063 and\u2062 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl is now the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov\/media\/dea-administrator-record-fentanyl-overdose-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leading cause<\/a> of death\u200c among Americans aged between 18 and 45.<\/p>\n<p>At the Port of Nogales, Arizona, customs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-than-3k-unaccompanied-alien-children-being-held-in-dhs-custody\/\" title=\"More than 3K unaccompanied alien children being held in DHS custody\">border protection officers<\/a>\u200b have made several fentanyl <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CBPPortDirNOG\/status\/1690092764548202496\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seizures<\/a> in August, including once <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CBPPortDirNOG\/status\/1691557934315266440\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">finding<\/a> 615,200 \u200dfentanyl pills \u2064and 24.2 pounds of fentanyl powder hidden in the floor of a car.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump, who did not \u2062take part in the debate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/trump-says-the-biden-administration-must-confront-china-over-us-fentanyl-crisis-4785876\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The eight candidates at the first Republican debate in Wisconsin addressed China&#8217;s threats to the US. However, some argued for more focus on the issue, stating that discussing the future is crucial rather than dwelling on the past. China&#8217;s threat is considered the top concern for our nation&#8217;s security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":2010588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2010587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2010587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2010588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2010587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2010587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2010587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}