section_path: Views/Criticism of China/"Ron Vara"
section_name: "Ron Vara"
paragraph_text: "Ron Vara"
  
  In six of his books about China, Navarro quotes a "Ron Vara", whom he describes as a China hawk and former Harvard PhD doctoral student in economics who says Sinophobic things about China and the Chinese such as "you've got to be nuts to eat Chinese food" and "only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a lethal weapon, and a cellphone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel". An investigation by the Chronicle of Higher Education found that no such person existed and that Ron Vara (an anagram of Navarro) appeared to represent views that Navarro himself held. Navarro has admitted to making up the character, an author surrogate, and quoting him in his books.
  
  Economist Glenn Hubbard, who co-authored Seeds of Destruction with Navarro, has said he was not aware that Vara was fictional, and that he disapproved of Navarro attributing information to a fictional source. In December 2019, a memo purportedly written by Ron Vara began circulating in Washington, D.C. The memo highlighted the "Keep Tariff Argument" and the use of tariffs against China a few days before implementing an additional 15% tariff on $160 billion of Chinese-made goods. Navarro later confirmed that he had written the memo. In response to the "Ron Vara" character, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokesperson Hua Chunying accused Navarro of "smearing China with lies".
  
  In six of his books about China, Navarro quotes a "Ron Vara", whom he describes as a China hawk and former Harvard PhD doctoral student in economics who says Sinophobic things about China and the Chinese such as "you've got to be nuts to eat Chinese food" and "only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a lethal weapon, and a cellphone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel". An investigation by the Chronicle of Higher Education found that no such person existed and that Ron Vara (an anagram of Navarro) appeared to represent views that Navarro himself held. Navarro has admitted to making up the character, an author surrogate, and quoting him in his books.
  
  Economist Glenn Hubbard, who co-authored Seeds of Destruction with Navarro, has said he was not aware that Vara was fictional, and that he disapproved of Navarro attributing information to a fictional source. In December 2019, a memo purportedly written by Ron Vara began circulating in Washington, D.C. The memo highlighted the "Keep Tariff Argument" and the use of tariffs against China a few days before implementing an additional 15% tariff on $160 billion of Chinese-made goods. Navarro later confirmed that he had written the memo. In response to the "Ron Vara" character, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokesperson Hua Chunying accused Navarro of "smearing China with lies".