Mitt Romney for strong ties with India to tackle Chinese challenge

Terming China a major foreign policy challenge for the US, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that if elected, he would ensure strong ties with India to counter the Chinese influence.

A fact sheet issued by the Romney Campaign asserted that if elected, the Republican will "deepen cooperation among regional partners like India and build stronger ties to influential countries like Indonesia."

In his address to the Veterans for Foreign War convention in Nevada yesterday, Romney, although acknowledging that partnership with China was necessary for a stable and secure world, accused Beijing of "cheating" the international community over a range of issues.

"It's in our mutual interest, of course, for China to be a partner for a stable and secure world, and we welcome its participation in trade. But the cheating must finally be brought to a stop," he said, accusing President Barack Obama of not doing anything in this regard.

"The President hasn't done it and won't do it, and I will," asserted Romney.

The Republican candidate termed the Chinese behaviour at the international level, especially over a host of trade issues as a challenge and also lashed out at Beijing for "disregarding rights of its people."

"We face another challenge in a rising China. China is attentive to the interests of its government, but it too often disregards the rights of its people. It's selective in the freedoms it allows," Romney said.

With special reference to the one child policy of China, Romney claimed the policy "can be ruthless in crushing the freedoms it denies."

"In conducting trade with America, it permits flagrant patent and copyright violations, forestalls American businesses from competing in its market and manipulates its currency to obtain unfair advantage," he said.

The fact sheet issued by the Romney Campaign added that if elected, the Republican would implement a strategy that would makes path of regional hegemony for China far more costly than the alternative path of becoming a responsible partner in the international system.

... contd.

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