China wants different American President: Mike Pence

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ China wants a “different American President” and is using more “proactive and coercive” methods to interfere in America’s domestic policies and politics, US Vice President Mike Pence alleged Thursday.  In an unusual and aggressive speech against China, Pence alleged that the Chinese Communist Party was rewarding or coercing American businesses, movie studios, universities, think tanks, scholars, journalists and local, state and federal officials.

“Beijing is employing a whole-of-government approach to advance its influence and benefit its interests. It’s employing this power in more proactive and coercive ways to interfere in the domestic policies and politics of the United States,” Pence said in a major policy speech on China.

“Worst of all, China has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence American public opinion, the 2018 elections, and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections…To put it bluntly, President Trump’s leadership is working; and China wants a different American President,” he alleged.

Pence’s remarks came a week after Trump accused China of interfering in mid-term elections. He alleged China was meddling in America’s democracy. “As President Trump said just last week, we have ‘found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 [midterm] election[s],” he said.