New Hampshire congressional candidate Maggie GoodlanderA former Justice Department official married to the White House national security adviser Jake Sullivanrecently criticized the Biden administration’s actions against China when asked if the United States had a policy he disagreed with.
“I think more can be done to be tough on China,” said Goodlander, a Democrat. New Hampshire said television station WMUR.
Goodlander’s husband holds a senior position in the White House. His work focuses mainly on foreign policy, including US-China relations.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council declined to comment on Goodlander’s remarks on Wednesday.
When reached for comment, an official with Goodlander’s campaign said the interview transcript spoke for itself.
“Maggie believes more needs to be done on China when it comes to opioids and dealing with the way Chinese companies are fueling the Russian war machine,” a campaign official said.
Democrats and Republicans have highlighted China as a key foreign policy issue in the 2024 election, especially as tensions rise between the world’s two largest economies over trade policies, Taiwan’s status and security, and military communications and technology.
During the interview, Goodlander also praised President Joe Biden, saying he “has done amazing things to improve the role of the United States around the world,” according to a transcript provided by the campaign but not released by WMUR.
Goodlander pointed to “holding accountable Chinese state-owned corporations fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine” and fighting opioid production.
“The truth is that overdose deaths in New Hampshire are often initiated by overseas Chinese chemical corporations,” he said.
The US says China is the main source of precursor chemicals used by drug cartels in Mexico to make fentanyl. Demon there is that he claimed the roots of the drug crisis are in the United States
China’s embassy in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Goodlander’s comments.
His statements came a few days after the incident The Biden administration announced It said it has increased tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese exports, including electric vehicles. Also this month, the Biden administration introduced new ones sanctions Against institutions supporting Russia’s war effort, including Chinese institutions.
Goodlander referred to these steps.
“As we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, it’s really been a good start in the last two weeks from the administration to impose sanctions on Chinese government agencies, but there’s more work to be done,” he said. He said in the transcript about the fight against the actors “inciting Russia’s war in Ukraine”.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi protested the US sanctions and tariff hikes, and the Chinese ministry released a statement calling the moves “the most typical case of hegemony and violence.”
Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping near San Francisco in November after the two leaders hadn’t spoken in a year. After the meeting, Biden said He noted that his talks with Xi were “some of our most meaningful and constructive discussions”.
The two leaders held a follow-up conversation in April reviewed Updates on issues being debated in California, including the war on drugs, artificial intelligence and military-to-military relations.
However, recently Xi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Beijing that the Chinese leader “China hopes that Europe will soon return to peace and stability and will continue to play a constructive role in this direction.”
Goodlander was asked in the interview how she would handle the dispute between New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District — the House seat she is running for — and the Biden administration, given her husband’s position in the White House.
“I love my husband. I admire him. He has an incredibly difficult job,” Goodlander told WMUR. “I also admire the president, he has a more difficult job. But one of the unusual and important aspects of America is that we have a separation of powers.”
Goodlander previously served as a senior Justice Department official under the Biden administration. He ran for Congress this month, setting up a primary race against the 2016 Democratic gubernatorial nominee. Colin Van Ostern and State Sen. Becky Whitley For the seat held by Rep. Annie Kuster, who announced in March that she would not seek re-election.
Van Ostern, who lost to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in 2016, received endorsements from Kuster and numerous current and former local officials before Goodlander entered the race.
That’s the main thing It was set for September 10.