Democrats didn’t mention JD.com’s scandal in their press conference. They focused on Daines supporting trade with China early, but more recently siding with Trump on the trade war. The senator’s support for China has been a part of the Democrats’ campaign messaging against Daines, as they promote the Senate candidacy of their own Steve, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock.
Democrats have branded Daines the “China Cheerleader,” at a time when U.S. sentiment toward China is low, particularly for Republicans. A Pew Research Center study in April found that 72% of Republicans had a negative view of China, as did 62% of Democrats.
Daines counters that he’s holding China accountable. He accuses China of withholding information about the COVID-19 pandemic. His position aligns with President Trump’s.
“It currently appears three years later that the only beef that made it to China was in Sen. Daines’ suitcase when he went over there to talk to JD.com,” Peterson said. “Well, China is buying more beef than ever. There’s little to no evidence that any of it is coming from Montana, if from the U.S. at all. And we have Sen. Daines to blame for that.”
In fact, sales of U.S. beef to mainland China are up 121% this year, reports the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Through August, China purchased $93.9 million worth of U.S. beef, about 12,288 metric tons worth. U.S. beef sales to Hong Kong through August totaled $381 million, about 46,612 metric tons. Hong Kong sales are down 11% compared to the January through August 2019.
