Lily Tang Williams condemns Vladimir Putin’s siege against Ukraine – but, she said the United States has given enough aid.

“We thought, ‘Hey, with our help, maybe the war will end pretty fast,’” said Williams, the Republican nominee for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District. “No. This is the third year, and I’m still not convinced.”

With the country’s sizable national debt, she said the United States should focus on negotiating peace instead of writing “blank checks.” Congress has often discussed the conditions that should be in place for Ukrainian aid. The U.S. also created a federal oversight group and passed a law requiring quarterly reports to monitor that aid.

The way to negotiate, Williams said, is to bring the former president back to the White House.

“I believe that if President Trump goes back to the White House, he will bring peace,” Williams said. “He will get both of them … to negotiate peace.”

Her Democratic opponent, Maggie Goodlander, disagrees.

“What that looks like in practice would be nothing short of Ukraine being delivered on a silver platter, which is something that this country should never stand for,” Goodlander said of Trump.

The two candidates participated in separate forums this week at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, focusing on America’s standing in the world, its place in negotiating peace and other foreign policy issues.

Goodlander said her stance on Ukraine is one of many ways that she and Williams “see the world in very different ways.”

Asked whether the United States should continue to send weapons, Goodlander emphasized Ukraine’s role as an ally but said she’d have to see the particulars of each bill to decide. For the war in Gaza, she supported the Biden administration’s decision to pause delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel because of concerns around mass casualties.

Both Goodlander and Williams reaffirmed Israel’s role as an ally to the United States and said the country has a right to defend itself after the Oct. 7 attack by militant group Hamas.

Williams said the United States should keep trying to negotiate peace but that the student protests that swept the country this year make it difficult.

“How do you do any kind of peaceful deals when one side wants another side to be totally dead, eliminated, destroyed?” Williams said.

Protests focused on calls for a permanent ceasefire, an end to U.S. military aid to Israel and for colleges to divest from weapon suppliers and companies profiting from the war, according to Reuters.

Williams said she’d have to see specific bills on aid for Israel, but in general, the U.S. should continue to let Israel purchase weapons – she suggested that revenue could help relieve the national debt.

The U.S. should help bring people together to negotiate, she said, but at the same time, “we cannot tell Israel what to do.”

Williams also attacked Goodlander and her husband, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, for their work in the Biden-Harris administration, blaming the unrest and wars across the world on “failed Biden-Harris foreign policies.”

Asked about the Israel-Hamas war, Goodlander called for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an ultimate end to the war. She said America should continue to send humanitarian assistance, particularly food, water and medical help.

“You can’t have a beating heart and read about the situation and see the images without feeling heartbroken,” Goodlander said. “We’ve got to bring an end to this war.”

Like Williams, Goodlander said the United States should continue to help negotiate peace in the Middle East. When asked by an audience member about restraining excessive action by Israel, Goodlander said it’s America’s job as an ally to try and keep Israel in check.

“When it comes to your allies … when you are talking or working with your friends, you have to always speak with candor and honesty,” Goodlander said. “I think that’s how we’ve got to be in our relationship with Israel. We have to push as hard as we can to minimize civilian deaths and to ensure compliance with international law.”

One thing the candidates somewhat agreed on was the America’s standing with China. Goodlander said the two countries have fundamental differences and that they’re in a competition “for the future of the world order.” She also said the United States needs to hold China accountable for its role in the opioid epidemic and restrict the flow of drugs across American borders – China is the primary source of internationally trafficked fentanyl, and a House of Representatives committee found earlier this year that the Chinese Communist Party is subsidizing this crisis, according to Reuters.

Williams, who is from China and immigrated to America in 1988, hinges her campaign on her childhood there during the Cultural Revolution. She spoke more strongly against China, saying it’s the biggest adversary and threat to the United States. She said America is too dependent on China’s manufacturing and goods. The country should form trade agreements and alliances with smaller countries surrounding China, Williams said, to improve the U.S.’s strength and ability to stand up to the other power.

Charlotte Matherly is the State House reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.