Commenting on the American presidential candidate Mitt Romney's harsh criticism of China at the second round of public debate with U.S. President Barack Obama, a Chinese expert on China-U.S. relations said that Romney, a businessman-turned-politician, just played the China card to attract more votes, suggesting that his words should not be taken too seriously, local newspaper The Beijing News reported.

Tao Wenzhao, a researcher with the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that before becoming a presidential candidate, Romney was a businessman and investor who poured money into China for the sole purpose of making profit. Now, as a politician running for the Oval Office, he has turned his back on his business past, called for a "crack-down on China" and has attacked Obama for not being sufficiently tough on China, Tao said.

At the October 16 debate, Romney said China did not "play by the rules" in international trade in order to gain advantages. "China has been a currency manipulator for years and years and years," he claimed. He said that if he were to be elected as president, he would label China "currency manipulator" and use tariff tools to deal with the country. Furthermore, he blamed China for American job losses and subsequently accused the nation of "stealing our intellectual property, our designs, our patents, our technology."

But the New York Times reported in a story that Romney has enjoyed long and strong business ties with China. Although it was hard to specify how much he has actually benefited from his China investments, it is very clear that his investments are diverse and benefit from the preferential policies of the Chinese government.

The story claimed that since 2010, Romney has invested up to US$2.25 million in three funds of Bain Capital, a private equity firm founded by Romney. These funds hold a large stake in Asimco Technologies, an auto parts manufacturer which is making products in China, as well as in at least seven other Chinese businesses. For instance, Bain's Asia fund put US$39 million into the Feixiang Group, a Chinese chemicals producer and exporter, in 2007. In 2009, Bain invested US$234 million in Chinese retailer giant Gome Electrical Appliances. In addition, Romney has millions of dollars invested in a series of Bain funds that have a controlling stake in Sensata Technologies, a producer of sensors and controls which employs 4,000 workers in China.

Tao said that China and America currently have increasingly closer trade ties, which are in fact mutually beneficial. It is not likely for the next American president, whether it's Obama or Romney, to crack down on the trade with China. As the Chinese economy is expanding, the international community will pay more attention to trade with China instead of curbing it, Tao added.

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