Chinese media censored Mike Pence's criticism of China during the vice presidential debate on Wednesday, the New York Post reported.
When Pence started to attack China's management of the coronavirus, telling viewers that "China is to blame," censors cut off the live video feed of the event in China and displayed, "No signal—please stand by."
The live broadcast restarted when the debate moved on from the topic of China. Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris's answer was not censored.
In the censored remarks, Pence blasted Beijing's behavior on the world stage during the coronavirus pandemic and criticized the Biden campaign's record on China.
"China and the World Health Organization did not play straight with the American people. They did not let our personnel into China to get information on the coronavirus until the middle of February," Pence said. "Fortunately, President Trump [has been] dealing with China from the outset of this administration, standing up to China that had been taking advantage of America for decades in the wake of Joe Biden's cheerleading for China."
During the debate, Harris claimed that the current administration "lost" a trade war with China, costing thousands of jobs and fraying relations with key allies.
These remarks follow Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent meeting with leaders from the "Quad" alliance of India, Japan, and Australia in continuing efforts to create a stronger front against Beijing. In Europe, pressure from the Trump administration during the summer led to several American allies rooting out Huawei infrastructure from their future 5G networks.
In fact, the Trump administration has emphasized cooperation as an indispensable feature of confronting the China challenge.
"It's going to take all of us," Pompeo told Czech officials in August. "It will take us working together here in Prague, in Poland, in Portugal. We have the obligation to speak clearly and plainly to our people and without fear. We must confront the complex questions presented by this challenge, and we must do so together."