After trade war, US tirade against China
US President Donald Trump has escalated his tirade against China and accused it of trying to influence US mid-term polls by attacking American farmers, ranchers and industrial workers, a charge denied by Beijing.
Trump did not offer evidence to support his accusation nor did he specify whether it was the upcoming mid-term elections in November China was allegedly targeting. “China has openly stated they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me,” the President tweeted.
Following up with a threat of additional tariffs, he said: “There will be great and fast economic retaliation against China if our farmers, ranchers and/or industrial workers are targeted!” The accusation comes a day after China promised “countermeasures” against Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on $200 billion worth Chinese imports.
The new duties, which take effect on September 24, will begin at 10%, then rise to 25% on January 1, 2019.
China responded by hiking tariffs on $60 billion worth of US imports. The over 5,000 products affected include coffee, honey, and industrial chemicals, reports said.
Reacting to Trump’s accusation of election interference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “Anyone who has some knowledge of China’s diplomacy will know that we will not interfere in other countries’ domestic affairs.”
“We don’t want others to interfere in our domestic politics, and we will not interfere in the domestic politics of others,” Geng said.