As President Barack Obama’s foreign policy has come under increased scrutiny after the recent anti-American unrest in the Middle East, Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney plans to increase attacks on Obama’s policies toward China, Politico has reported.
Romney adviser Ed Gillespie said that China’s unfair trade policies have cost America about two million jobs, and he asserted that a President Romney would do a better job than Obama:
"We have a plan to address China cheating in the international marketplace," Gillespie said. "The president’s failed policies have been to not stand up to China. … Temporary tariffs are not a solution. We need a more comprehensive plan on China."
Those projected job losses total almost half the private-sector jobs that have been created during Obama’s tenure, according to Obama’s campaign—although fact checkers have questioned the legitimacy of that number.
Politico questioned the importance of the issue to voters, but Gillespie pointed to the Obama campaign’s response to the attacks as evidence that Obama is worried.
"I think it’s clear that the message on China has resonated not only in the polls but the Obama campaign," Gillespie said. "They went up with a commercial. The administration even filed a case. As Gov. Romney said, if all it took to get the administration to take action was to run an ad, we would’ve run one years ago."
Obama, Politico noted, also recently attacked Romney for investments in Chinese companies.