As the presidential race in the United States is heating up, the two candidates – Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump – have clashed on a range of issues. Whether it is immigration, reproductive rights or social spending, the two have sought to rally their bases by attacking each other on what they see as the key concerns of voters.

However, there is one issue on which they seem to align: China. Although they have different visions on how to pursue US policy towards the superpower challenging Washington’s position on the world stage, they seem to agree that it is a threat that needs to be contained.

How do they propose to do that? Harris appears to offer a continuation of President Joe Biden’s policies. She would seek to enhance the US’s longstanding security partnerships in Asia by transforming them into economic alliances while also waving a “big stick” against those who seek to violate US sanctions even in partner states.

Harris will also likely continue to push for “de-risking” from China, a policy of relocating manufacturing industry out of Chinese territory – which the Biden administration has promoted as something that can benefit third countries. In the case of some key partners like Vietnam, that has been the case; the country has seen substantial FDI growth as a number of Western companies have moved their operations there.

The Democrats are also keen on placing the CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts – which seek to promote domestic production of microchips and clean energy, respectively – not only at the heart of their domestic agenda, but also contextualising them as returning jobs and industries “stolen” by Beijing.

Trump, on the other hand, has doubled down on the “America First” rhetoric of his previous campaigns and even gone........

© Al Jazeera