Rep. Mike Gallagher sees opportunity to take on China at second GOP debate

EXCLUSIVE — Chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party Mike Gallagher (R-WI) said Tuesday there is an opening for Republican debate candidates to provide a nuanced strategy for taking on China.

At the last Republican National Committee primary debate in August, candidates addressed China primarily through the lens of the war in Ukraine and what the U.S.’s role in it means for tensions with the country.

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Acknowledging that the war in Ukraine is a notable division among Republicans, Gallagher told the Washington Examiner in an interview that candidates could address Ukraine and Taiwan in a way that also caters to “people that are sort of skeptical of Ukraine funding,” particularly “because they’re concerned about [how] it’s affecting Taiwan.”

“That’s the opportunity for someone, I think, to articulate a strategy that’s still strong, but doesn’t dismiss the concerns that many Republican voters have about Ukraine,” he said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Republicans have increasingly said too much aid is being given to the war-torn country. The general public and Democrats have followed a similar trend, but to a lesser degree. In March of 2022, nearly half of Republicans reported believing the U.S. was not giving enough aid to Ukraine, as opposed to 44% saying it was giving too much in June of 2023.

On the other hand, Americans are increasingly concerned over tensions between China and Taiwan, with more than 80% reporting the problem is “somewhat” or “very serious” for the U.S. Further, two-thirds of U.S. adults said they have a favorable opinion of Taiwan.

“I think there’s a fair question to be asked just on Taiwan,” Gallagher said. “Whether we should defend Taiwan, whether candidates support strategic ambiguity, or how do we rebuild our military in such a way as to prevent a war with China over Taiwan.”

He noted that the backdrop of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, where the debate is being held Wednesday night, makes questions on Taiwan and foreign policy all the more important. However, he claimed the moderators should push them beyond the mantra of “peace through strength” and ask, “What’s your actual plan here?”

Gallagher doesn’t believe that questions on China should be limited to the topics of Ukraine and Taiwan, though. He pointed to the controversial social media application TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. “Young people go to TikTok to get their news. People on that debate stage are going to disagree about the way forward with TikTok, and they should be asked, what do they intend to do?”

“Ban? Force a sale? Do nothing?” he suggested. “How do they intend to succeed where the Trump administration failed?” he asked, noting, “Trump’s attempts ran into a legal buzz saw.” According to the Wisconsin Republican, moderators should further question candidates on whether they will go “where Biden now fears to go because he doesn’t want to anger younger voters” when it comes to the app.

Asked about former biotech CEO and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent use of the app, Gallagher said he should explain the choice to voters on the debate stage. Ramaswamy previously said his choice to join the app had to do with the number of young voters it has the capability of reaching. For Gallagher, he said “the national security concerns outweigh the young voter engagement concerns.”

As for former President Donald Trump, who won’t be at the debate but is currently poised to be the Republican nominee, Gallagher said, “I don’t know how he would approach China in a second term. His first term was a mixed bag.”

“I think he gets credit for resetting the conversation on China and I do think that his National Security Strategy and national defense strategy represented the biggest shift in American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War,” he said.

However, he pointed to a couple areas where his performance on China was less than satisfactory. “One was just on rebuilding the military,” he claimed.

“The other issue is this issue of outbound capital flows,” he added. “More money flowed to China from America during the Trump administration than any modern administration, and then the Phase One trade deal … it went unfulfilled.”

Gallagher explained that the debates would be a good forum for Trump to explain what his plans would be for China in a second term.

According to the congressman, two candidates have stood out on the campaign trail when it comes to China. “[Gov. Ron] DeSantis has been great. He sort of brought the issue up proactively in a couple of forums I’ve seen and as a veteran, I think he gets the military component of the competition and I know he’s gonna be talking more about it in the days and weeks to come.”

“[Former U.N. Ambassador] Nikki Haley’s speech at AEI was quite good on China,” he added.

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DeSantis, though, “has a real opportunity to articulate a plan for rebuilding the Navy, in particular, and the military in general,” Gallagher claimed. He continued, saying the Florida governor has the opportunity to connect it to “China’s increasing threat in our own hemisphere.”

DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Vice President Mike Pence, Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will take the stage at the RNC debate Wednesday, which will be broadcast by Fox Business and moderated by Fox News’s Dana Perino, Fox Business’s Stuart Varney, and Univision’s Ilia Calderon.