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[Text/Ruan Jiaqi, Observer Network]

According to Politico, the Financial Times and other media reports on the 23rd, Harris, who officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, gave her "most detailed" statement on US foreign policy to date at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago during prime time on Thursday night. This is also the first time that the US vice president, who is often criticized for her lack of foreign policy experience, has indicated how she will lead the United States on the world stage after replacing President Biden as a candidate.

Hong Kong media South China Morning Post pointed out that China policy did not occupy much space in the speech, but Harris's tone was not small. She painted a huge pie for her supporters: "I will ensure that in areas such as space and artificial intelligence, we will lead the world into the future. It will be the United States, not China, that will win the competition in the 21st century. We will strengthen, not abandon, America's global leadership."

In this nearly 40-minute speech, in addition to continuing to focus on economic and social issues, Harris focused on criticizing her opponent, Republican nominee Trump, and also talked about the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. China policy did not occupy a prominent position in her speech.

Hong Kong media pointed out that the new Democratic Party platform passed last Sunday "hardly revealed" how Harris differs from the Biden administration in terms of China policy or Indo-Pacific policy.

According to reports, less than two pages of this 91-page document involve China, and it routinely claims that we should be wary of China taking advantage of the United States' openness and technology to undermine the interests of the United States and its allies.

However, the party platform still outlines the Biden administration’s common China policy propositions: such as closely coordinating with allies to deal with the so-called fierce strategic competition with Beijing; continuing to smear China and hype up its coercive and unfair trade practices; strengthening the U.S. industrial base; and cooperating with China as much as possible on climate, fentanyl, and artificial intelligence, etc.

Even more strange is that the document repeatedly mentions Biden's "second term" but does not specify Harris' candidacy or elaborate on her views on key issues. The South China Morning Post quoted analysts as saying that this means that the party platform was a version before Biden withdrew from the election and may not have been revised at all since then. Whether it can be used to illustrate Harris's policy inclination toward China needs to be questioned.

Jeremy Chan, a China analyst at the Eurasia Group, a U.S. political risk consulting firm, told the South China Morning Post that Harris has never visited China, and her running mate Waltz is obviously much more familiar with the situation in China, "so he may play a more active role on this issue than on other foreign policy issues."

Waltz, 60, worked as a middle school teacher for many years before entering American politics. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in social science education in 1989, he went to China to teach at Foshan No. 1 Middle School in Guangdong. Since then, he has visited China many times and learned some Mandarin and Cantonese. When asked why he chose China, Waltz said at the time: "China is rising, and that's why I went there."

However, Waltz has his own troubles. After announcing his candidacy for the Democratic vice presidential nomination, his experience teaching in China and running study abroad programs was attacked by hawkish figures and Republicans in the United States for being "pro-China."

Hong Kong media earlier quoted experts as saying that Harris is expected to follow the China policy formulated by the Biden administration to make the handling of relations with China "more coherent and systematic." She is also believed to be likely to take a tough stance on issues such as Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy. In the past, she has strengthened engagement with U.S. allies in the region, met with Philippine President Marcos more often than any other Asian leader, and intervened in South China Sea affairs.

According to Nikkei Asia, while Harris was delivering her speech at the conference, Trump also live-broadcasted a rebuke on his own social media platform, "Real Social." He wrote in a post, "She didn't mention China, she didn't mention energy, she didn't talk meaningfully about the Russia-Ukraine issue, and she didn't mention the major issues that are destroying our country today."

The South China Morning Post said that China policy is expected to become a major topic of debate between Harris and Trump at the presidential candidate debate to be held on September 10 local time.

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