>>> WELCOME BACK TO "MORNING
JOE."
IT’S 8:37 ON THE EAST COAST.
NOW TO OUR SERIES ON THE BIGGEST
FOREIGN POLICY CHALLENGES THAT
WILL FACE WHOEVER WINS THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
NBC NEWS SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
CORRESPONDENT KEIR SIMMONS JOINS
US NOW WITH A LOOK THIS MORNING
AT CHINA.
KEIR, GOOD MORNING.
>> Reporter: HEY, WILLIE, GOOD
MORNING TO YOU.
LAST
YOU ONLY HAD TO WATCH LAST
WEEK’S DEBATE, KNOWING THAT
AMERICA GOING FORWARD WILL BE
TOUGHER ON CHINA, CHALLENGING
MERCANTILISM, LACK OF DEMOCRACY.
THAT ISN’T THE QUESTION FOR
CHINA ON VOTERS NEXT WEEK.
THE QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE
RIGHT APPROACH.
IS IT TRUMP’S TRADE WARS OR IS
IT BIDEN’S PROPOSAL TO LEAN IN
TO THE POST-WAR FORWARD
ALLIANCES WITH COUNTRIES LIKE
JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA?
FOR VOTERS TO MAKE THAT KIND OF
DECISION, YOU REALLY NEED TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT CHINA HAS DONE
AND WHAT IT’S DOING.
WHEN AMERICA LOOKS AT CHINA, IT
OFTEN SEES A BILLION PEOPLE ALL
MARCHING.
BUT NOT UNLIBEL AMERICA,
POWERFUL FORCES HAVE BEEN
GAINING GROUND INSIDE CHINESE
POLITICS.
EXTREMISTS, NATIONALISTS, EVEN
SOME OF ITS DIPLOMATS CALLED
WOLF WARRIORS.
NAMED AFTER A PAIR OF CHINESE
NATIONALISTS FILM BLOCKBUSTERS
FOR AGGRESSIVELY CRITICIZING
AMERICA.
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE TURMOIL
FOLLOWING THE KILLING OF GEORGE
FLOYD IT THIS SUMMER, THE STATE
DEPARTMENT CRITICIZED CHINA’S
HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD IN HONG
KONG.
A CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY
SPOKESWOMAN RESPONDED IN A
TWEET, I CAN’T BREATHE.
THOSE WHO CRITICIZED CHINA ARE
TARGETED.
UCLA CHINA EXPERT PROFESSOR
MICHAEL BERET HAS BEEN WOMAN
BARRED WITH ONLINE ABUSE BECAUSE
HE TRANSLATED WUHAN DIARY ABOUT
THE EARLY DAYS OF CORONAVIRUS IN
WUHAN.
>> I BROPROBABLY GOT CLOSE TO A
THOUSAND PRIVATE MESSAGES OF
HATE AND THREATS.
>> WHAT DO THEY SAY?
>> I AM GOING TO F-ING KILL YOU.
I AM GOING TO F-ING KILL YOUR
SON.
I AM GOING TO KILL YOUR MOTHER.
ALMOST A KIND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
TERRORISM.
>> Reporter: IN WASHINGTON
OPINIONS ARE HARDENED ON CHINA
ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE.
>> THIS IS NOT A
REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT ISSUE.
THIS IS AN AMERICAN ISSUE.
>> I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT ONE
OF THE MOST DEFINING QUESTIONS
OF THE NEXT 20, 30 YEARS WILL BE
WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES’
RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA.
>> Reporter: FOR YEARS THE
BRITISH AMBASSADOR KAREN PIERCE
HAS WATCHED CHINESE DIPLOMACY.
FOR DECADES IT FOCUSED ON
ECONOMIC GROWTH, PULLING
MILLIONS OUT OF POVERTY.
NOW SHE SAYS --
>> YOU SEE A RATHER DIFFERENT
CHINA.
A CHINA THAT’S DETERMINED TO
HAVE A PLACE ON THE WORLD STAGE,
A CHINA THAT WANTS TO RESET THE
RULES OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
TO ITS OWN ADVANTAGE, THAT SAYS
THAT THEY COLLABORATE WITH THE
MULTINATIONAL SYSTEM, THEY
CONTRIBUTE TO PEACEKEEPING, THEY
ARE NOW MAJOR DONOR.
IT’S VERY MUCH A MIXED PICTURE
OVER WHAT IT WAS, SAY, 15 YEARS
AGO.
>> Reporter: PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS
PLAYED GOOD COP/BAD COP WITH
CHINA, RAILING AGAINST CHINA ON
THE SEASON CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
>> WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A VERY,
VERY GREAT RELATIONSHIP.
>> Reporter: MAKING FRIENDS WITH
PRESIDENT X OVERI OVER CHOCOLATE
AT MAR-A-LAGO.
NOW THEY HAVEN’T SPOKEN FOR
MOUNTS.
HUAWEI, PARTICULARTIKTOK, HONG K
RIGHTS, CURRENCY DEVALUATION.
NOW THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING
CORONAVIRUS HAS POURED GASOLINE
ON THE FIRE.
>> LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE
CHINA VIRUS.
LOOK WHAT THEY DID BY NOT
KEEPING THAT WITHIN THE CONFINES
OF CHINA.
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO 188
COUNTRIES ALL OVER THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: TRUMP NOW
ENTERTAINING THE IDEA OF THE
WORLD’S TWO LARGEST ECONOMIES
DECOUPLING.
NOBODY TRULY KNOWS WHAT’S NEXT.
>> WE ARE LIKELY TO BE IN A
PROLONGED GLOBAL RECESSION.
HOW CHINA ESCAPES FROM THAT,
THEREFORE, THAT WILL IMPACT
CHINA’S FOREIGN AND ECONOMIC
POLICY.
>> Reporter: BUT WE DO KNOW
CHINA HAS BEEN FLEXING ITS
MUSCLES, FUSING CIVIL AND
MILITARY DECISION-MAKING,
MODERNIZING ITS MASSIVE NAVY,
AIR FORCE AND ARMY.
A TOTAL OF 2.8 MILLION TROOPS.
SENATOR JEAN SHAHEEN SITS ON THE
SENATE’S FOREIGN RELATIONS AND
DEFENSE COMMITTEES.
>> THEY HAVE CONTINUED TO DO A
BUILD-UP IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
IN WAYS THAT INCREASE THE
CHINESE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IN
THAT AREA.
AS YOU POINT OUT, THERE ARE
RUMBLINGS THAT CONTINUE TO
THREATEN TAIWAN.
THEY HAVE GONE BACK ON THEIR
AGREEMENT NOT TO INTERFERE IN
HONG KONG IN A WAY THAT HAS
PROTECTED HUMAN RIGHTS AND
DEMOCRACY THERE.
THAT HAS BEEN TOTALLY UNDERCUT.
>> Reporter: CHINA’S HUMAN
RIGHTS RECORD CONTINUES TO
UNDERMINE ITS STANDING ON THE
WORLD STAGE.
ITS
IT’S BEEN REPEATEDLY ACCUSED OF
DETAINING A MILLION UIGHUR
MUSLIMS IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS.
THEY CALL THEM VOCATIONAL
RETRAINING CENTERS DESIGNED TO
COMBAT EXTREMISM.
CHINA THIS YEAR ELECTED TO THE
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL, BUT WITH THE LOWEST
VOTES EVER.
WHILE A SECOND TERM PRESIDENT
TRUMP WILL LIKELY CONTINUE HIS
ANTI-CHINA AMERICA FIRST
RHETORIC, A POTENTIAL BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION SAYS IT WILL
RALLY AMERICA’S REGIONAL ALLIES.
>> BIDEN WILL HAVE A VERY
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MANAGING
CHINA.
HE UNDERSTANDS THE VALUE OF
WORKING WITH OTHER COUNTRIES.
CHINA IS TOO BIG AND TOO
POWERFUL FOR ANY COUNTRY TO TRY
TO MANAGE ON ITS OWN.
>> Reporter: BUT BOTH APPROACHES
LIKELY MEAN RELATIONS WITH CHINA
WILL REMAIN OR GET MORE TENSE IN
THE YEARS AHEAD.
THIS MONTH TAIWAN’S FOREIGN
MINISTER CALLED CHINA HOSTILE
COUNTRY.
AMERICAN AND CHINESE
CONFRONTATION HAS LED TO
HOSTILITIES BEFORE ON THE KOREAN
PENINSULA AND IN VIETNAM.
>> A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT
IS THIS GOING TO LEAD TO A NEW
COLD WAR.
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT THE CASE
IF WE DON’T WANT IT TO BE.
IT IS NOT INEVITABLE THAT WE END
UP HAVING A NEW COLD WAR OR
COMPETITION TO THAT LEVEL WITH
CHINA.
>> Reporter: THE TWO ECONOMIES
ARE INTERTWINED TO THE TUNE OF
MORE THAN $700 BILLION, MEANING
MILLIONS OF AMERICAN AND CHINESE
JOBS DEPEND ON EACH OTHER.
THAT MAY BE THE BEST DETERRENT
TO CONFRONTATION.