China's continued growth, particularly at a time of economic sluggishness in the United States and Europe, and the question of whether China engages in unfair trade practices, have raised concerns among policymakers. The Obama administration's 2011 strategic pivot toward the Pacific region was seen as a counter to China's influence. It included an agreement on a military deployment in Australia, and efforts to reach a new regional trade pact that doesn't involve China. Presidential candidates have noted Chinese assertiveness regarding contested resources in the South China Sea. Many of the GOP contenders have also expressed concern over China's human rights record.

Editor's Note: Click here for more CFR Issue Trackers and other 2012 campaign resources, which examine the foreign policy and national security dimensions of the presidential race.

Barack Obama

Democratic Incumbent

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President Obama came into office seeking a cooperative relationship with China. In 2009, his administration launched the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue for discussion of trade and other issues, which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called "the beginning of an unprecedented effort to lay the foundation for a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive U.S.-Chinese relationship for the twenty-first century."

Obama said during a January 2011 state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao: "In an interconnected world, in a global economy, nations--including our own--will be more prosperous and more secure when we work together."

Yet the president has criticized China on its currency policies (BBC) and the administration has confirmed a $5.8 billion arms sale package (Defense News) for Taiwan. On an Asia trip in November 2011, Obama announced plans for an expanded U.S. Marine presence in Australia and with Asian leaders, and confronted China (NYT) about its claims to disputed resources in the South China Sea.

Pirated and counterfeit goods have also been a source of contention. During his 2012 State of the Union address, Obama announced the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit to investigate "unfair trading practices in countries like China." He also noted that his administration had brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate of President George W. Bush's administration. In February 2012, Obama met with China's vice president, Xi Jinping, pressing the issue of trade policy and human rights.

Ron Paul

Republican Candidate

Rep. Paul (R-TX) supports free trade with China and noninterference with China's internal affairs. "We're much better off talking to the Chinese and trading with the Chinese," Paul says. He is skeptical that trade imbalances between the United States and China can be addressed by strengthening the yuan relative to the dollar.

Opposing the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which aimed to crack down on countries like China with undervalued currencies, he said lawmakers needed to consider the benefits of U.S.-China trade, "one of which is that American consumers benefit from lower-priced goods. Adopting the policy urged by supporters of this bill would cause consumer prices to increase, thus reducing consumers' wealth."

In December 2010, Paul opposed a resolution condemning China's crackdown on Nobel Prize - winning Chinese democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo. "I do not believe it is our place, as members of the U.S. Congress, to dictate internal policy to the Chinese government," he said on the House floor.

Mitt Romney

Republican Candidate

Romney promotes a U.S. policy toward China that encourages "Beijing to embark on a course that makes conflict less likely and continues to allow cooperation with the United States, economic opportunity, and democratic freedom to flourish across East Asia." He advocates strong military capability in the Pacific, deepening cooperation with India and other regional allies, a strong defense of human rights, and incentivizing China to pursue fair free trade policies.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post in October 2011, Romney wrote that China systematically exploits other economies by enabling theft of intellectual property, and favoring and subsidizing domestic producers. In an October 2011 Republican debate Romney said as president he would issue an executive order declaring China a currency manipulator.

In the Republican foreign policy debate in November 2011, Romney said the United States has leverage over China that it could use to demand better trading terms. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Romney laid out a vision for dealing with China in the economic, military, and human rights arenas. Romney said that it was necessary to "directly counter abusive Chinese practices in the areas of trade, intellectual property, and currency valuation," and that he would designate China as a currency manipulator on his first day of his presidency unless China "changes its ways."

He also cited the need for a strong military presence in the region and the necessity of supporting dissidents as well as speaking out against China's one-child policy. In a February 2012 speech, Romney called China's one-child policy "barbaric."

In May, Romney called on U.S. officials to protect Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng who escaped house arrest and hid at the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

"This event points to the broader issue of human rights in China," Romney said in a press release Sunday. "Any serious U.S. policy toward China must confront the facts of the Chinese government's denial of political liberties, its one-child policy, and other violations of human rights."

Newt Gingrich (*withdrew)

Editor's Note: Gingrich withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on May 2, 2012.

Gingrich favors promoting economic ties while taking a strong stand against human rights abuses in China and elsewhere (ABC). "We should be pressuring everywhere," he said, "including Russia, including China, including Cuba. We should be pushing steadily and saying, 'America stands for freedom.'"

He also advocates student exchanges and tourism. He told PBS, "If the Chinese people and the American people end up as friends we will have a safer, freer and more prosperous planet."

On the Fox program Hannity, Gingrich argued that the United States should worry more about itself than about China's policies. "If we do the right things in America, we can compete with China and India for the next 100 years," he said.

Rick Santorum (*withdrew)

Editor's Note: Santorum withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on April 10, 2012.

Santorum sees China as part of a "gathering storm" of security threats facing the United States, including Iran and Venezuela, he told Secure Freedom Radio in June 2011. He would like to see the United States take a stronger stand with China and wants to rebuild the United States so that it can be a stronger player on the world stage.

In an October 2011 Republican debate, Santorum said in reference to trade issues with China, "I don't want to go to a trade war, I want to beat China."

Michelle Bachmann (*withdrew)

Editor's Note: Rep. Bachmann withdrew her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on January 4, 2012.

Rep. Bachmann (R-MN) voted for the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act in September 2010, intended to address Chinese manipulation of currency.

In July 2008, she voted for a resolution calling on the Chinese government to end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, to cease repression of ethnic Tibetan and Uighur citizens, as well as to end its support for the governments of Sudan and Myanmar.

Jon Huntsman (*withdrew)

Editor's Note: Huntsman withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on January 16, 2012.

Huntsman, U.S. ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011, says on his web site that the United States needs to cultivate a more effective approach to China, though he provides few details. He says "there is no other relationship in the world that, if mismanaged, carries greater negative consequences."

He backs a strong stand on human rights issues, and has chided China's government (NYT) for "cutting off dialogue and suppressing the news media." He said in the November 12, 2011 debate that the United States should be reaching out to China's young people, who "are bringing about change the likes of which is gonna take China down."

Huntsman said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that "when it comes to economics, security, trade and investment, there's only one relationship that matters in the world. The United States and China are now on the world stage."

Rick Perry (*withdrew)

Editor's Note: Perry withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on January 19, 2012.

Perry sees China as "both an economic partner and military competitor," according to his campaign web site.

He says the Obama administration has not confronted China on human rights and that the United States needs to get its "economic house in order," reduce debt, and maintain a strong military presence in Asia "so that we can properly negotiate with China from a position of strength."

In an interview with Laura Ingraham in August 2011, Perry argued for a more forceful U.S. stance against China's infringement of intellectual property laws.