Pence calls out China interference

Vice president says the country is partaking in activities to interfere in U.S. politics and undermine Trump.

WASHINGTON — China “wants a different American president” and is working to undermine President Donald Trump and influence U.S. elections, Vice President Mike Pence asserted Thursday in a sharply critical speech that marked another escalation in rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Speaking at the conservative Hudson Institute, Pence accused China of using trade, diplomatic overtures and military expansion to spread its influence around the world and to work against U.S. interests. He called on American business leaders, academics and journalists to counter Beijing’s global campaign and vowed that Trump “will not back down” in the face of China’s challenge.

“President Trump’s leadership is working; China wants a different American president,” Pence said. “China is meddling in America’s democracy.”

The vice president’s remarks served as the latest salvo from the Trump administration amid a deepening trade war with China and new military hostilities. Top White House aides have said the administration is developing new policies to mark a turn in the bilateral relationship away from cooperation in many areas and toward outright competition.

At the same time, Trump has continued to press Beijing to support efforts to pressure North Korea into relinquishing its nuclear weapons.

At a United Nations conference last week, Trump accused Beijing of trying to influence the election in retaliation for the escalating trade war in which both nations have enacted tariffs on more than $250 billion worth of goods. The president did not offer evidence of interference by Beijing, though administration officials told reporters that they viewed a number of Chinese actions as tantamount to interference.

Pence cited an advertising supplement purchased by Chinese state media in the Des Moines Register in Iowa as an one example.

“The supplement, designed to look like news articles, cast our trade policies as reckless and harmful to Iowans,” he said.