Romney’s Response to China’s Rise

Mitt Romney wants the 21st century to be an American century, not a Chinese one, he writes in The Wall Street Journal Thursday. “With China’s billion-plus population, its 10 percent annual average growth rates, and its burgeoning military power, a China that comes to dominate Asia and much of the globe is increasingly becoming thinkable,” and “Barack Obama is moving in precisely the wrong direction.” As president, Romney insists, he “will not continue an economic relationship that rewards China’s cheating and penalizes American companies and workers.” He also urges building up the U.S. military to compete with China’s growing armed forces and punishing its political and human-rights violations. “We should not fail to recognize that a China that is a prosperous tyranny will increasingly pose problems for us, for its neighbors, and for the world,” he declares.