A day after losing Wisconsin, White House hopeful Hillary Clinton has unleashed a blistering critique of China while campaigning in blue-collar Pennsylvania, warning the Asian giant must “toe-the-line” if she becomes president.
The eastern US state, where organised labour is an influential force, hosts its presidential primaries on 26 April.
Clinton’s remarks, delivered to a state AFL-CIO union convention in Philadelphia, were among her most forceful campaign trail comments about Beijing.
Her rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders, addresses the gathering Thursday.
Clinton, seeking to regain her footing in the nomination race after losing six of the last seven state contests, pointed to her experience as secretary of state as a measure of her ability to influence Beijing.
Clinton defeated Barack Obama in Pennsylvania in their 2008 primary battle, thanks to support from union Democrats, and she aims to repeat her victory in three weeks’ time.
But she will need to reassure workers who have criticised her late opposition to the trans-Pacific trade deal recently signed by President Barack Obama. Sanders has steadfastly opposed the agreement from day one.
She also criticised Sanders, insisting that “in a number of important areas, he doesn’t have a plan at all.”
Clinton leads Sanders by 52.7 percent to 35 percent in a RealClearPolitics poll average, although the latest poll, released by Quinnipiac University on Tuesday, puts Clinton just six points ahead.
(This copy has been put out in arrangement with AFP.)
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