WASHINGTON--U.S. Vice President Mike Pence intensified Washington's pressure campaign against Beijing on Thursday by accusing China of "malign" efforts to undermine President Donald Trump ahead of next month's congressional elections and reckless military actions in the South China Sea.
In what was billed as a major policy address, Pence sought to build on Trump's speech at the United Nations last week in which he accused China of trying to interfere in the vote that will determine whether his Republican Party will keep control of Congress. Neither Trump nor Pence provided hard evidence of meddling by China, which last week rejected the president's allegation.
Pence's speech at Washington's Hudson Institute marked a sharpened U.S. approach toward China going beyond the bitter trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. It highlighted disputes such as cyber attacks, Taiwan, freedom of the seas and human rights.
Pence said China was waging a sophisticated effort to sway the elections against the Republicans in retaliation for Trump's trade policies. He vowed to continue to expose Beijing's "malign influence and interference."
Pence said Beijing, with an eye not only to the congressional elections but also to Trump's 2020 re-election bid, had “mobilized covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets to shift Americans’ perception of Chinese policies” and was targeting its tariffs to hurt states where Trump has strong support. "China wants a different American president," Pence said.
He said that in June, Beijing laid out its strategy in a sensitive "Propaganda and Censorship Notice" which stated that China must "strike accurately and carefully, splitting apart different domestic groups" in the United States.
The allegations, however, have raised questions as to whether Trump and his aides are trying to deflect attention from an investigation of his campaign’s possible ties to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and also set up China for blame if Republicans do poorly in November's vote.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement that Pence in his speech had made "unwarranted accusations ... and slandered China by claiming that China meddles in U.S. internal affairs and elections."
China is committed to working with the United States for "non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation," she said.
