Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., spoke about problems he sees concerning international trade at a Coalition for a Prosperous America conference Thursday at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, 2100 Green Hills Drive.

The presidential candidate addressed what he described as China “cheating on trade,” as well as the country’s trade surplus, which he said is financing the advancement of its military.

China is cheating, Hunter said, by devaluing its currency by 40 percent, which gives it an unfair advantage in the global market.

The second main concern Hunter discussed regarding China was its trade surplus of $200 billion a year, which he said they are using to build arms, some of which appear to be designed specifically to contend with the United States.

“They are using that trade surplus to buy ships and planes and military equipment,” Hunter said. “They’re building right now about a hundred ballistic missiles a year, and they now have an armada of roughly 1,000 short-range ballistic missiles as well as [intercontinental ballistic missiles].”

Hunter said it is unwise from a national defense standpoint to help arm “potential adversaries,” which he said the United States is doing by allowing China to “cheat” as well as have the advantage it does in the global market.

“[The Chinese] are buying Sovremenny-class missile destroyers from the Russians, which were designed by the Russians to destroy American aircraft carriers,” Hunter said. “They now have a large number of submarines under construction, and they now have more than 50 submarines in their fleet. So China is arming, increasing their military at a rate of 17.8 percent per year.”

Hunter told the CPA, an organization founded early this year that exists to examine issues related to globalization and trade, he plans to use his platform as a presidential candidate to bring trade issues into the national spotlight.

“I’m going to stop China from cheating on trade,” Hunter said.

Marcie Frevert, Democratic state representative from District 7, said she was impressed because of Hunter’s attention to trade.

“So few of the presidential candidates from either party are speaking about the Fast Track legislation and the fact that China is cheating on trade,” Frevert said.

“Fast Track legislation” allows the president most of the power regarding trade decisions and policies, leaving very little decision-making abilities to Congress.

“He spoke with understanding about the trade issues that are facing America right now,” Frevert said.