In an October 2018 speech, Vice President Mike Pence elaborated on the new perspective. China, he said, had “masterminded the wholesale theft of American technology” and has built “an unparalleled surveillance state” and “an Orwellian system.” It is seeking “to erode America’s military advantages” and “push the United States of America from the Western Pacific.” But, Pence added, “We will not be intimated.” In what is otherwise a deeply divided and partisan Washington, Pence’s remarks reflect what has become a broad consensus across party lines, as would become evident in the 2020 presidential
...more
