TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—US Vice President Kamala Harris’ past speeches and trips abroad offer observers a glimpse into how she might approach foreign policy toward Taiwan and China if she wins the 2024 presidential election.

Harris was a key figure in shaping the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, strengthening alliances with ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, and other regional partners. Although Harris was a senator and district attorney by background, she has played an active role in major diplomatic issues in recent years.

For the past three and a half years as vice president, Harris has made 17 trips abroad, visited 21 countries, and met with more than 150 world leaders. Four of those trips were to Asia, including the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the 2023 Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit (ASEAN), and the East Asia Summit (EAS), per CNA.

On the sidelines of the 2022 APEC summit, Harris briefly met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. She reportedly stressed the importance of “open lines of communication” to manage escalating tensions between the two countries. 

On Taiwan, Harris endorsed the Taiwan Travel Act in 2018, which allowed US officials at all levels to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts, and vice versa. In addition, Harris met Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in 2022 at the inauguration ceremony for Honduras’ president.

During her September 2022 speech aboard the USS Howard in Japan, Harris criticized China’s aggressive behavior in the East China Sea and South China Sea and provocations across the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing concluded military exercises around Taiwan following former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit. “We will continue to oppose unilateral changes to the status quo and support Taiwan’s self-defense in accordance with our longstanding policy,” Harris said.

The vice president added, “Taiwan is a vibrant democracy that contributes to the global good, from technology to health and beyond. The US will continue to deepen our unofficial ties.”

Harris met several times with the US’ five Indo-Pacific treaty allies, including Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. As territorial conflicts in the South China Sea intensified between China and the Philippines, Harris met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at least five times, demonstrating the US commitment to its allies’ security and the international order, according to a White House meeting summary.

Harris visited Vietnam on her trip to Asia in 2021, marking the first visit by a US vice president. She told Vietnamese leaders that the US would work to curb China’s aggressive expansion in the South China Sea and protect freedom of navigation.

Regarding China’s human rights issues, as a senator, Harris co-sponsored bills to support Hong Kong and the Uyghur ethnic minority in Xinjiang. She helped pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which sanctioned Chinese officials and entities responsible for human rights violations.

Harris has also repeatedly expressed concern about China’s “unfair trade practices.” In 2018, she highlighted China’s “non-traditional espionage activities” at a Congressional hearing and advocated for amending the 1996 Economic Espionage Act.

However, she emphasized that Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods were unproductive, as they increased costs for US companies, put American workers at risk of unemployment, and caused consumer prices to rise. In a joint open letter to then Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, she urged a reconsideration of the tariffs’ efficacy and called for negotiations with China on its trade policies.

Regarding other international issues involving China, Harris described the US-China relationship as “very complicated” during the 2020 presidential primary debate. She stated that while holding China accountable in most areas, certain cooperation is necessary on issues like the climate crisis and North Korea.