Bonnie Girard is a newcomer to politics, but as a former resident of China for a total of 18 years, she has a unique perspective on foreign policy with the Asian country.

Girard first went to China in 1987 as part of a University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill program. She has since used her experience and language skills to work for companies opening up in the China market in the 1980s and ‘90s. In the mid-‘90s, she created a consulting company, China Channel Consultants, to give advice to American companies doing business in China.

“I’ve got 30 years of international and domestic business experience in helping companies create new jobs and expand their operations,” she said. “We’ve been working with Virginia companies to help export goods and services to China. I have a unique experience in helping companies define and implement their strategies to add jobs to the workforce — never taking jobs out of the United States.”

On the topic of jobs, Girard acknowledges that jobs and the economy are the top issues in this election season.

“I am fully supportive and fully believe in the power of the private sector and the power of free enterprise to be the most dynamic method of creating lasting jobs and lasting economic growth,” she said. “We are ripe for investment.”

Girard said she does not believe growing defense jobs is the way to go, saying the Middle East wars are winding down and the Chinese military buildup threat is “largely a red herring,” because she does not believe the country will attack America.

Even so, Girard says she thinks America should “reduce our dependency on the commercial relationship with China.”

Girard also said she wants to scale back government spending.

“We have an unprecedented and unsustainable debt, unprecedented level of defense spending, we have a very scary and unstable economic environment, we have increasing loss of jobs, continuing foreclosures and continuing home value decline,” she said.

Finally, Girard said she supports term limits for Congress.

“It’s a lack of bloodflow,” she said. “It’s a tourniquet on our legislative process.”