that he would not be able to perform his full responsibilities. i think there is merit in that criticism. should really pay attention to it for the good of the court. it is not healthy to get a new justice who can only do a part-time job. senate continues debate on the brett kavanaugh nomination when they return tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. eastern. we are expecting a vote to limit debate, with a final confirmation vote possible on saturday. you can watch live coverage of the senate on c-span2. speaking at the hudson institute in washington, d.c., vice president mike pence talked about relations with china, accusing the country of attempting to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections. this is 40 minutes.

, and all of you, who to to your mission in this place, think about the future in unconventional ways. it is an honor to be back at the hudson institute. century,than a half a this institute dedicated itself to addressing global security, prosperity, and freedom. while hudson's hometown has changed over the years, one thing has been constant, you have always advanced that vital truth that american leadership lights the way it.

leadership,ing of allow me to begin by bringing greetings from a great champion of american leadership at home and abroad. i bring greetings from the 45th president of the usa, president donald trump. [applause] >> from early in this administrat -- from early in this administration, president trump has made our relationship with china important. on april 6 last year, president trump welcomes president xi to the mar-a-lago. then he traveled to beijing, where china's leader welcomed him warmly. over the course of the past two years, our president has formed a strong personal relationship with the president of the people's republic of china. they work closely on issues of common interest. most important, the denuclearization of the korean peninsula.

you today,re t know, asou deserve to we speak, beijing is approaching a whole of government approach using political, economic, and military tools, as well as propaganda, to advance its influence and benefit its interests in the u.s. china is also applying the power in more proactive ways than ever before to exert interference -- influence and interfere in the politics of this country. under president trump's leadership, the united states has taken decisive action to respond to china with american action. applying the principles and policies long advocated. in our national security strategy that the president released last december, he describes a new era of great power competition. foreign nations have begun to

reassert their influence regionally and globally. they are contesting america's geopolitical advantages and trying to change the international order in their favor. --in thisrategy strategy, president trump made clear the u.s. has adopted a new approach to china. we seek a relationship grounded in fairness, reciprocity, and respect for sovereignty. we have taken strong and swift action to achieve that goal. as the president said last year on his visit to china, in his words, " we have an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between our two countries and improve the lives of our citizens." -- ouron of the futuret vision of the future is built on the best part of our past. when america and china reached out to one another in a spirit of openness and french. nation went searching for new markets for experts in the wake of the war.

the chinese people welcomed american traders, laden with ginseng and fr when china suffered throughur. century of humiliation, america refused to join in, and advocated the open door policy so that we could have freer trade with china and preserve their sovereignty. when american missionaries brought the good news to china's shores, they were moved by the rich culture of an agent and vibrant people. not only did they spread their faith, those same missionaries founded some of china's first and finest university. when the second world war arose, we stood together as allies in the fight against imperialism. in the aftermath, america injured china became a charter member of the united nations, and a great shaper of the post world war. soon after it took power in 1949, the chinese communist party began to pursue

authoritarian expansionism. it is remarkable to think only five years after we had fought other,r, we fought each in the mountains and valleys of the korean peninsula. my own father saw combat on that frontier of freedom. not even the brutal korean war could diminish our mutual desire that hade the ties so long bound our peoples together. china's estrangement from the u.s. ended in 1972. soon after, we reestablished diplomatic relations and began to open our economies to one another and american universities that began training generation of business leaders and scholars. after the fall of the soviet union, we assumed a free china was inevitable. heavy with optimism at the turn of the 21st century, america agreed to bring open access to

our economy to beijing. we brought china into the world trade organization. previous administrations made this choice in the hope that freedom in china would expand in all of its forms, not just economically. politically, as well, with a newfound respect for classical liberal principles. private property, personal liberty, religious freedom, the entire family of human rights. that hope has gone unfulfilled. the dream of freedom remains distant for the chinese people. pays lipjing still ,ervice to reform and opening the famous policy now rings hollow. china's past 17 years, gdp has grown ninefold. it's become the second-largest economy in the world. much of the success was driven

by american investment in china. the chinese communist party has also used an arsenal of policies inconsistent with free and fair trade, including tariffs as currency manipulation, force technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and industrial subsidies that are handed out like candy to foreign investors. these policies have built beijing's manufacturing base at the expense of its competitors. especially the united states of america. contributedons have to a trade deficit with the u.s. that last year ran to $375 billion, nearly half of our global trade deficit. as president trump said this china over thet

last 25 years. now, through the made in china 2025 plan, the communist party has set its sights on controlling 90% of the world's most advanced industries, including robotics, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. to win the commanding heights of the 21st century economy, aging directed its bureaucrats and businesses to obtain american intellectual property, the foundation of our economic leadership, by any means necessary. beijing now requires many american businesses to hand over their trade secrets as the cost of doing business in china. it also coordinates and sponsors the acquisition of american firms to gain ownership of their creations. worst of all, chinese security agencies have masterminded the wholesale theft of american technology, including cutting-edge military

blueprints. technology --ling and using the stolen technology, they are turning plowshares into swords on a massive scale. china now spends as much on its military as the rest of asia combined. beijing has prioritized capabilities to erode america's military advantages on land, at sea, in the year, and at space. china wants nothing less than to push the u.s. from the western pacific in an attempt to prevent us from coming to the aid of our allies, but they will fail. beijing has also used its power like never before. chinese ships routinely patrol along islands administered by japan. while china's leaders stood in the rose garden at the white house in 2015 and said this intention tono

militarize the south china sea," today, beijing has deployed advanced anti-ship and anti-air baseses, atop military constructed on artificial islands. china's aggression was on display this week when a chinese naval vessel came within 45 as a of the uss decatur conducted freedom of navigation operations in the south china sea, forcing our ship to quickly maneuver to avoid collision. despite such reckless harassment, the u.s. navy will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, and our national interests demand. we will not be intimidated, and we will not stand down. [applause]

america had hoped that economic liberalization would bring china into a greater partnership with us and the world. instead, china has chosen economic aggression, which has emboldened its growing military. for a time, beijing in -- inched toward liberty and respect for human rights. in recent years, china has taken a sharp u-turn toward control and oppression of its own people. today, china has built an unparalleled surveillance state, and it is growing more expensive and intrusive, often with the

help of u.s. technology. what they call the great firewall of china grows higher, drastically restricting the free flow of information to the chinese people. by 2020, china's rulers aim to implement an orwellian system, premised on controlling every facet of human life, the so-called social credit score. in the words of the program's official blueprint, it will allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step. when it comes to religious freedom, a new wave of persecution is crashing down on chinese christians, buddhists, and muslims. last month, beijing shut down one of china's largest underground churches.

across the country, authorities are tearing down crosses, burning bibles, and imprisoning believers. beijing has now reached a deal with the vatican that gives the about the atheist communist party a direct role in appointing catholic bishops. for chinese christians, these are desperate times. beijing is also cracking down on buddhism. over the past decade, more than 100 50 buddhist monks have let themselves on fire to protest china's repression of their beliefs in their culture. the communist party has imprisoned as many as one million muslim uighurs in government camps, where they endure around-the-clock brainwashing. survivors of the camps have described their experience as a deliberate attempt by beijing to

mprangle their culture and sta out the muslim faith. countryry attests, a that oppresses its own people rarely stops there. beijing also aims to extend its reach across the wider world. as hudson's own dr. michael pillsbury has written " china has opposed the actions and goals of the u.s. government, indeed, china is building its own relationships with america's allies and enemies that contradict any peaceful or productive intentions of beijing ." called debto diplomacy to expand its influence. today, that country is offering hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure loans. the governments from asia to africa, europe, even latin

america. yet, the terms of those loans are opaque, at best. and the benefits invariably flow overwhelmingly to beijing. which tooki lanka, on a massive debt to a chinese state companies build a port of questionable commercial value. two years ago, that country can no longer afford its payments. beijing pressured them to deliver the new port directly into chinese hands. it may soon become a foreign military base for china's growing blue water navy. within our own hemisphere, beijing has extended a lifeline to the corrupt and incompetent regime in venezuela that has been oppressing its own people. they pledged $5 billion in questionable loans to be repaid with oil.

china is also that country's single largest creditor, settling the venezuelan people with more than $50 billion in debt. even as the democracy vanishes. beijing is also impacting some nation's politics by providing direct support to parties and candidates who promise to accommodate china's strategic objectives. since last year alone, chinese communist party's have commenced three latin american nations to sever ties with taipei and recognize beijing. these actions threaten the stability of the taiwan strait, and the u.s. condemns these actions. while our administration will continue to respect our one china policy, as reflected in the three -- the joint communiques and the taiwan relations act, america will always believe that taiwan's

embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the chinese people. [applause] these are only a few of the ways china has sought to advance its strategic ways across the world. it is growing with sophistication. previous administrations all but ignored china's actions. in many cases, they abetted them. those days are over. under president trump's leadership, the u.s. has been defending our interests with renewed american strength. we have been making the strongest military in the history of the world, stronger still. earlier this year, president trump signed into law the largest increase in our national defense since the days of ronald reagan.

extend then to strength of the american military to every domain. we are modernizing our nuclear arsenal, we are fielding and developing new cutting edge fighters and bombers, we are building a new generation of aircraft carriers and warships. we are investing as never before in our armed forces. this includes initiating the process to establish the u.s. space force to ensure our continued dominance in space. to we have taken action authorize increased capabilities in the cyber world to build deterrence against our adversaries. at president trump's direction, we are also implement in tariffs on $250 billion in chinese goods, with the highest tariffs specifically targeting the advanced industries that beijing is trying to capture and control. as the president has also made clear, we will levy even more tariffs, with the possibility of

substantially more than doubling the number unless a fair and reciprocal trade deal is made. [applause] these actions, exercises in american strength, have had a major impact. china's largest stock exchange fell by 25% in the first nine months of this year, in large part because our administration has been standing strong against beijing's trade practices. as president trump has made clear, we don't want china's markets to suffer. in fact, we want them to thrive. but the u.s. wants beijing to pursue trade policies that are free, fair, and reciprocal. we will continue to stand and demand that they do. [applause]

sadly, china's rulers have refused to take that path. the american people deserve to know. in response to the strong stance president trump has taken is pursuing they comprehended and coordinated campaign of underlying support to the president, our agenda, and our nation's most cherished ideals. i want to tell you today what we know about china's actions here on. -- here on. some of which are publicly available. all of which are fact. speak,id before, as we beijing is employing a whole of government approach to advance its influence and benefit its interests. it's employing its power in more proactive and coercive ways to

interfere in the domestic policies of this country, and interfere in the politics of the u.s. the chinese communist party is rewarding or coercing american studios,s, movie universities, think tanks, scholars, journalists, and local state and federal officials. worst of all, china has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence american public opinion. the 2018 elections and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections. to put it bluntly, president trump's leadership is working. china wants a different american president. there can be no doubt, china is meddling in america's democracy. as president trump said last

week, we have found china is attempting to interfere in our upcoming midterm elections. our intelligence community says china is targeting u.s. state and local governments, and officials, to exploit any divisions between federal and local levels on policy. it is using wedge issues, like trade tariffs, to advance beijing's political influence. itself, beijing circulated a sensitive document entitled "propaganda and censorship notice." it laid out its strategy. "strike china must accurately and carefully, splitting apart different domestic groups in the u.s." hashat end, beijing

mobilized corporate actors, from to shiftnd propaganda american perception of chinese policies. as a senior member of our intelligence community told me, what the russians are doing pales in comparison to what china is doing across this country. the american people deserve to know. officials have also tried to influence business leaders to encourage them can -- to condemn our trade actions, levy their desire to maintain operations in china. in one recent example, china threatened to deny a business license for a major u.s. corporation if they refused to speak out against our administration's policies. when it comes to influencing the midterms, you need only look at beijing."

--beijing's tariffs in response to ours. they targeted industries and states that would play an important role in the 2018 elections. more than 80%e, of u.s. counties targeted by china voted for president trump and i in 2016. now, china wants to turn these voters against our administration. china is also directly appealing to american voters. last week, the chinese government paid to have a multi-paid supplement in the des moines register. the paper of record of the home state of our basset or to china, and a pivotal state in 2018 and 2020. the supplement designed to look like a news article cast our trade policies as reckless and harmful.

fortunately, americans are not buying it. for example, american farmers are standing with this president and seeing real results from the strong stance he has taken, including this week's u.s.-mexico-canada agreement, where we opened north american markets to u.s. products. the u.s. mca is a great win for american farmers and manufacturers. [applause] china's actions aren't focused solely on influencing our policies and politics. beijing is also taking steps to exploit its economic leverage and the lower of -- allure of their large marketplace on american businesses. beijing now requires american joint ventures that operate in china to establish what they call party organizations within

the company. giving the communist party a voice, and perhaps a veto, in hiring an investment decision. chinese authorities have also threatened u.s. companies that took to taiwan as a geographic entity, or straight from chinese policy on tibet. beijing compelled delta airlines to apologize for not calling taiwan a province of china on its website. fire asured marriott to u.s. employee who merely liked a tweet about tibet. beijing routinely demands hollywood portrayed china in a strictly positive light. it punishes studios and producers that don't. beijing sensors there quick to edit or outlaw movies that criticize china, even in minor

ways. for the movie "world war z," they had to cut the mention of a virus because it originated in china. " was editeded dawn to make the villains north korean, the chinese. beyond business and entertainment, chinese communist party is spending billions on propaganda outlets in the u.s. frankly, around the world. china radio international now broadcasts beijing friendly programs on over 30 u.s. outlets, many in major american cities. the china global television network reaches more than 75 million americans. it gets its marching orders directly from its communist party masters. as china's top leader put it during a visit to the network's importers, "the media run by the

party and the government are propaganda fronts, and must have the party has their surname." it's for those reasons and that reality that last month, the department of justice ordered that never to register -- network to register as a foreign agent. the communist party has also threatened and detained the chinese family members of american journalists who pry too deep. it blocked the websites of u.s. media organizations and made it harder for our journalists to get visas. this happened after the new york times published investigative reports about the wealth of some of china's leaders. the media isn't the only place where chinese communist party seeks a culture of censorship. the same is true across

academia. chinesefurther than the students and scholars association, of which there are more than 150 branches across america's campuses. these groups help organize social events for some of the more than 430 channels and -- 430,000 chinese nationals studying in the state. they also alert chinese consulates and embassies when chinese students and american schools stray from the communist party line. at the university of maryland, a chinese student recently spoke at her graduation of what she called "the fresh air of free speech in america." the communist party's official newspaper swiftly chastised her. she became the victim of a firestorm of criticism on china's tightly controlled social media. her family back home home was harassed.

as for the university itself come it its exchange program with china, one of the nation's most extensive suddenly turned from a flood to a trickle. china exerts academic pressure and other ways as well. beijing provides generous funding to universities, think tanks and scholars. with the understanding that they the avoid ideas that communist party finds dangerous or offensive. china experts and particular know that their visas will be delayed or denied if their research contradicts beijing's talking points. even scholars in groups that avoid chinese of funding are targeted by that country. as the hudson institute found out firsthand. after you offer to host a speaker, beijing did not like,

your website suffered a major cyber attack originating from shanghai. institute knows better than most, but the chinese communist party is trying to undermine economic freedom and the freedom of speech in america today. these and other actions taken as intensify effort to shift america's public opinion and policy away from the america first leadership of president donald trump. but our message to china's rulers is this, this president will not back down. [applause] vp pence: the american people will not be swayed in we will continue to stand strong, for our security and our economy. hope, for improved

relations with beijing, our administration is going to continue to act decisively to protect america's interest, american jobs, and american security. as we rebuild our military, we will assert american interest across the indo pacific. traderespond to china's -- trade practices, we will continue to demand an economic relationship with china that is free, fair, and reciprocal. we will demand that beijing breakdown its trade barriers, fulfill its obligations, fully open its economy, just as we have opened hours. we will continue to take action -- against beijing until american intellectual property ends once and for all. and we will continue to stand strong and tell beijing stops the predatory practice of forced technology transfer.

we will protect the private property interest of american enterprise. [applause] vp pence: to advance our vision of free and open indo pacific, we are building new and stronger bonds with nations that share our values across the region. , ourindia to samoa relations will flow from a spirit of respect, filled on partnership, not domination. deals forging new trade on a bilateral basis, just as last week, president trump signed an improved trade deal with south korea. historicoon begin negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement with japan. [applause] vp pence: i am also pleased to

report that we are streamlining international development and finance programs. we will be giving foreign nations a just and transparent alternative to china's debt trap diplomacy. this week, president trump will sign the build act into law. it will be my privilege to represent the united states in singapore and papua new guinea at scn in aipac. there, we will unveil new measures and programs to support a free and open indo pacific. president, ithe will deliver the message that america's commitment to the indo pacific has never been stronger. [applause] vp pence: closer to home, to protect our interest, we recently strengthened the committee on foreign investment. tightening our scrutiny of chinese investment in america.

to protect our national security from beijing's predatory actions. when it comes to beijing's malign influence and interference and american politics, and policy, we will continue to expose it. no matter the form it takes. leaders atk with every level of society to defend our national interest and our most cherished ideals. the american people will play the decisive role. in fact, they already are. here, a new consensus on china is rising across america. more business leaders are thinking beyond the next quarter, and thinking twice before diving in to the chinese market if it means turning over their intellectual property or abetting beijing's depression. -- oppression. more must follow suit. for example, google should

immediately and development of the dragonfly app that will strengthen the communist party's censorship and compromise the privacy of chinese customers. [applause] vp pence: it is also great to see more journalists reporting the truth without fear or favor, digging deep to find where china is interfering in our society, and why. and we hope that american and willl news organizations continue to join this effort on an increasing basis. more scholars are also speaking out forcefully and defending academic freedom and more universities and think tanks are mustering the courage to turn away beijing's easy money. recognizing every dollar comes with a corresponding demand. that theirident

ranks will grow. nation, the american people are growing in vigilance. with a newfound appreciation for our administration's actions, and the president's leadership, to reset america's economic and strategic relationship with china. americans stand strong, behind a president that is putting america first. under president trump's leadership, i can assure you, america will stay the course. china should note that the american people and their elected officials in both parties are resolved. as our national security strategy states, we should competition does not always mean hostility, nor

does it have to. present -- of the president has made clear that we want a constructive relationship with beijing. where our prosperity and security grow together, not a part. -- not a part. while beijing has been moving away from this vision, china's rulers can still change course, and returned to the spirit of reform and opening. the beginningize of this relationship decades ago. the american people want nothing chinese people to serve nothing less. storyteller,nese lou schwan, often lamented that his country, and he wrote, has either looked down at foreigners as brutes or up to them as

saints, but never as equals. today, america is reaching out our hand to china, and we hope that soon beijing will reach back with deeds, not words. and with renewed respect for america. but be assured, we will not relent until our relationship with china is grounded in fairness, reciprocity, and respect for our sovereignty. [applause] vp pence: there is an ancient chinese proverb that reads, men see only the present, but heaven sees the future.

as we go forward, let us pursue a future of peace and prosperity with resolve and faith. faith in president trump's leadership and vision and the relationship that he has forged with china's president. faith in the enduring friendship between the american people and the chinese people. and faith that heaven sees the future. and by god's grace, america and china will meet that future together. thank you. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017]

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [music playing] [applause] announcer: c-span's washington journal, live every day with

news and policy issues that impact you. up friday morning, washington post national security reporter greg miller discusses his new book "examining russia's interference in the 2016 election." agenda i fraser, former assistant for african affairs talks about first lady -- triptrump's trips to to africa. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal, join the discussion. the c-span bus was recently in honolulu, hawaii for the further -- for the 39th stop. this weekend, we feature our visit to hawaii on c-span, book tv, and american history tv. history andwaii's culture as well as public policy issues facing the state. saturday, on c-span come at 7:00 a.m. eastern on washington director of hawaii's office of planning will

talk about homelessness and lack of affordable housing. noon,k tv, on c-span2 at stuart coleman on his book "eddie would go, on the life of net -- of legendary surfer eddie i cap." then a visit to the university of hawaii at west no one who for the extensive book collection of late u.s. senator daniel inouye. sunday, our hawaii weekend continues on c-span at 9:30 a.m. eastern on washington journal. just make a lean a, executive director of the blue planet foundation on renewable energy efforts in hawaii. on american history tv on c-span3, at 2:00 p.m. eastern, we visit the valley of the priest along the north shore of a lot of. and the polynesian voyaging society in honolulu. at 4:00 p.m. eastern, three short documentaries about hawaii. the 1956 film "soldier in hawaii." the 1924 silent film "the hawaiian island."

the 1952 film "launching krone scope." this hawaii weekend weekend on c-span, but tv, and american history tv. listen to hawaii weekend on the free c-span radio app, we're featuring honolulu mayor saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the director of this with sony and national air and space museum sat down for an interview at the atlantic festival in washington, d.c.. she discussed the museum's mission, space exploration, and science education. >> all right. it is hard to follow the panda. the last time we did this, you wear chief scientist of nasa. you boreto say that