(Image source: The New York Times)

BY ZACH TOOMBS

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Republican presidential candidates have traded plenty of harsh words and attack ads in recent weeks. But another target receiving a verbal beatdown -- China. Take frontrunner Mitt Romney’s statements at last week’s Bloomberg debate, for example.

“I’m afraid that people who have looked at this issue in the past have been played like a fiddle by the Chinese. And the Chinese are smiling all the way to the bank, taking our currency, taking our jobs and taking a lot of our future. And I’m not going to let that happen. I’m in the race to try to get America -- to make sure we’re strong again, to make sure we’re creating jobs and that we’re the best place in the world to be the Middle Class again. And for that to happen, we’ve got to call cheating for what it is.”

Economic sanctions against China were a major part of Romney’s 59-point jobs plan released last month. But Romney’s not the only GOP candidate taking aim at the Eastern superpower. Just ask Rick Santorum and Herman Cain.

SANTORUM: “I want to beat China. I want to go to war with China and make America the most attractive place in the world to do business."

CAIN: “The China strategy that I have articulated is real simple: outgrow China.”

And those harsh words from presidential candidates, namely from Romney, haven’t gone unnoticed by the Chinese government. Tuesday, the nation’s Foreign Ministry told English-language newspaper China Daily:

“We think that frequently blaming others, looking for scapegoats and even misleading the public is an irresponsible attitude.”

So, why has China become a punching bag for GOP presidential candidates? The Wall Street Journal quotes economist Kevin Hassett as saying:

"‘It's brilliant politics even though it's bad economics. It allows (Romney) to be a saber-rattling guy who can appeal to tea party types in the primaries while not alienating people who vote in general election."

And Business Week warns that the candidates are muddling real concerns about China’s wrongdoings with campaign talking points, saying:

“Former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman is playing the foil, warning against actions that could prompt a trade war. The debate centers on legitimate gripes over the Asian power's currency value, huge U.S. debt holdings and pirating of American technology. But those are often being melded into a simpler populist message that China is stealing jobs from the United States.”

Talk of trade war aside, The Wall Street Journal points out that China and the U.S. are unlikely to alter their economic co-dependency for similar reasons -- they both face opposition from powerful business interests.

Transcript by Newsy.