FACTBOX: Presidential candidates' stances on China

By Lucy Hornby

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain have a similar list of issues to address with China -- its currency, its relations with troublesome states, emissions and market access for foreign investors.

Obama emphasized a multilateral approach to North Korea and Asia-Pacific security based on alliances throughout the region, while McCain warned against American protectionism and urged China to live up to open market and currency commitments, in campaign position papers published by the American Chamber of Commerce in China on Monday. (www.amcham-china.org.cn)

Below are excerpts of the candidates' positions:

JOHN MCCAIN

CLIMATE CHANGE:

"If we are going to establish meaningful environmental protocols, they must include the two nations -- China and India -- that have the potential to pollute the air faster, and in greater annual volume, than any nation ever in history."

DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS:

"China has signed numerous international agreements that make its domestic behavior more than just a matter of national sovereignty. To be a responsible stakeholder in the modern international system, a government must also be responsible at home, in protecting the rights of its people."

ECONOMY AND TRADE:

Accuses Obama of "preying on fears stoked by Asia's dynamism" and of proposing "throwing up protectionist walls". Calls for retraining U.S. workers and modernizing the unemployment insurance system as part of a recognition that globalization means jobs will be lost.

"(China's) commitment to open markets must include enforcement of international trade rules, protecting intellectual property, lowering manufacturing tariffs and fulfillment of its commitment to move to a market-determined currency."

"The next administration should be clear about where China needs to make progress, hold it to its commitments through enforcement at the World Trade Organization, and enforce U.S. trade and product safety laws."

MILITARY AND DIPLOMACY:

"Some of China's economic practices, combined with its rapid military modernization, lack of political freedom and close relations with regimes like Sudan and Burma, tend to undermine the very international system on which its rise depends."

"China could bolster its claim that it is "peacefully rising" by being more transparent about its significant military buildup and by working with the world to isolate pariah states."