During the second night of this week's Democratic primary debates, President Donald Trump's approach to China came under fire as candidates spoke about how they would approach relations with the country and explained what they believed to be the greatest threat to the United States.
The moderators' discussion of China comes amid ongoing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing — including several cycles of tariffs on billions of dollars on both American and Chinese goods — and just weeks after the Trump administration announced it would effectively ban Chinese telecoms giant Huawei over security concerns.
During Wednesday's debate, former Rep. John Delaney, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Tim Ryan, and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro all pointed to China as one of or the greatest threat to the nation.
While some candidates, during the second night of debates, called Russia the greatest threat to the United States, there was agreement that China poses a significant challenge, but debaters maligned Trump's aggressive imposition of tariffs.
"On China, I think the president's been right to push back on China but has done it in completely the wrong way," said Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who otherwise targeted Russia as the top threat. "We should mobilize the entire rest of the world, who all have a shared interest in pushing back on China's mercantilist trade policy."
<i>The 10 Democratic candidates in the first primary debate on Wednesday. / Cheddar</i>
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang pointed to Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election as evidence that Russia should be Americans' greatest concern. "They've been hacking our democracy successfully. They've been laughing their asses off about it for the last couple of years," he said.
However, on China, Yang said: "They do pirate our intellectual property, it's a massive problem. But the tariffs and the trade war are just punishing businesses and producers and workers on both sides”
He pointed to the challenges of farmers, who, facing tariffs, fear losing valuable foreign contracts that they've worked years to secure.
“The beneficiaries have not been American workers or people in China. It’s been Southeast Asia, and other producers, that have then stepped into the void.“ Yang argued.
Farmers, who produce a large portion of the U.S.'s trade surplus, have been the primary target of retaliatory tariffs imposed by China. This pain has been acutely felt by soybean farmers, who saw their crop prices hit a 10-year low in May.
"We've got to recognize that the China challenge really is a serious one," cautioned South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. "This is not something to dismiss or wave away. And if you look at what China is doing, they're using technology for the perfection of dictatorship. But their fundamental economic model isn't going to change because of some tariffs."
"Manufacturers — and especially soy farmers — are hurting. Tariffs are taxes. And Americans, are going to pay, on average $800 more a year, because of these tariffs," Buttigieg added.
"Meanwhile, China is investing so that they could soon be able to run circles around us in artificial intelligence," the mayor said. "The biggest thing we've got to do is invest in our own domestic competitiveness."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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