The Republican candidates were debating in Florida last night. In response to a question about tax cutting, Governor Huckabee said the following:
But let me speak to the really heart of what I think a lot of Americans are concerned about with the economy. And frankly, in talking about the stimulus package, one of the concerns that I have is that we'll probably end up borrowing this $150 billion from the Chinese. And when we get those rebate checks, most people are going to go out and buy stuff that's been imported from China. I have to wonder whose economy is going to be stimulated the most by the package.
It seemed like a bit of a non-sequitur to me, trying to tie concerns with the stimulus to China trade. Later, the candidates had a chance to ask each other questions, and Mitt Romney came back to the issue with this question for Rudy Giuliani:
MR. ROMNEY: I think Governor Huckabee raised a good question when he spoke about China and the impact of China. I think what you're seeing in the world is that as the emergence of Asia occurs, that the demand for more oil around the world is driving prices very high. The Chinese are supplying to us today toys and Christmas tree ornaments and dog food, but they're going to want to make jumbo jets and patents for various medicines and software. They're going to be a much tougher competition, China is, competitor, than we have seen from Europe in a long time.
And the question that I have is, how are we going to make sure that as we compete with China, and I'm going to address this to Mayor Giuliani, as we compete with China, how do we make sure that trade is done in a way that levels the playing field? How do we make sure that China stabilizes the world economically, but that we protect American industry and American jobs, and do not cause a departure of jobs from this country? What kind of relations do we need to have with China economically?
I know our military issues but economically, Mayor, what kinds of things do you think we can do to make sure that the trade is done at a level playing field, and where American industries are strengthened and not put in jeopardy by virtue of the growth of this great part of the world?
MR. GIULIANI:
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The reality is that China is a great opportunity for America and a great caution for America, both. It's a great opportunity for us to engage, to engage in trade, and the more America engages in trade, the more we get to know a country, the less likely we are to have military hostilities.
I think we should be working with China to try to push down some of these barriers; protection for intellectual property; rule of law; an ability to sue in China, so that you can be protected if you're doing business there. We've got to be very careful about what we import from China, from the point of view of safety and security, not as much from the point of view of our economy.
And then I think we have to look at the rise of China as a wonderful opportunity. I see 20 (million) or 30 million people coming out of poverty in China every year. To me, that's 20 (million) or 30 million more customers for the United States. That's 20 (million) or 30 million more people we can be selling things to.
We should be thinking like aggressive entrepreneurial Americans. What can we sell to China? We can sell them energy independence. They need it more than we do. We can sell them health processes. We can sell them information processes. They are at a level of development that's here. We're at a higher level of development. They need to buy what we have.
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I couldn't tell if this was a softball question by Romney or if he really shares Huckabee's concerns.
