Trump turns on China over Pyongyang

WASHINGTON: The White House is suddenly engaged in a campaign against Beijing, born of frustration with the limited results of their much-touted co-operation on ending North Korea’s nuclear threat.

Delivering a one-two punch to China on Thursday, the Trump administration approved a $1.4billion (R18.3bn) arms sale to Taiwan and blacklisted a small Chinese bank over its business ties with North Korea.

The State Department earlier in the week gave Beijing a dismal grade in a new human trafficking report endorsed by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser.

The actions came after days of irritation by the president over China’s reluctance to tighten the economic screws on Pyongyang. The shifts in Trump’s China policy in some way reflect the natural ebbs and flows that are to be expected in great power relations. The US and China have the world’s two biggest economies, with all the commercial opportunities and headaches such a dynamic entails.

China’s government has relied heavily on a close relationship between its US ambassador, Cui Tiankai, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. Kushner, who is heavily involved in foreign policy, speaks frequently with the ambassador.

The White House insisted that its actions this week were not aimed at punishing China for its reluctance to ramp up pressure on North Korea. The State Department said the arms sale to Taiwan was approved under a long-standing US policy to help the island. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who announced the sanctions on the Chinese bank, said that “we are in no way targeting China”.

Briefing foreign policy experts this week on China and other matters, a senior US official noted that the US had made clear to China that Chinese banks and companies conducting business with Pyongyang would face sanctions if there was no movement on North Korea’s nuclear activities. – AP

To clear his name, Sir Cliff spent £280 000

LONDON: Cliff Richard, 76, spent £280 000 (R4.8 million) defending his reputation after the BBC revealed he was a child sex abuse suspect.

The singer battled internet trolls, a blackmailer and fielded questions from the media. He engaged an immigration lawyer in case US authorities tried to stop him visiting his Caribbean mansion.

Sir Cliff ’s bills were disclosed in documents submitted to the high court. He wants the BBC to pay for hiring solicitors to deal with unfounded social media posts. – Daily Mail