Huawei exec arrest: Trump may step in to save China trade deal
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would intervene with the US justice department in the case against a Chinese telecommunications executive if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing.
“If I think it’s good for the country, if I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made – which is a very important thing – what’s good for national security – I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” Trump said in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters in the Oval Office.
Trump expressed optimism that he could strike a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two countries struggle to resolve a dispute that has contributed to recent US stock market declines and raised questions about whether economic turmoil could beset the president in the new year.
WASHINGTON:
At the request of US authorities, Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested earlier this month in Vancouver on charges of violating US sanctions against Iran.
The arrest came the same day Trump and Xi declared a 90-day truce in their trade war during summit talks in Buenos Aires.
Trump, who wants China to open up its markets to more US products and stop what Washington calls the theft of intellectual property, said he had not yet spoken to Xi about the case.
TRUMP CONTINUES TO BACK SAUDI PRINCE
Trump addressed the controversy surrounding the October 2 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, saying he stood firmly beside Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman despite accusations that he was the mastermind of it.
“He’s the leader of Saudi Arabia. They’ve been a very good ally,” Trump said. Asked if standing beside Saudi Arabia means standing by the crown prince, Trump said, “Well, at this moment, it certainly does.”