Trump blames Obama for China trade deficit
President praises his hosts as he says his predecessors are responsible for allowing Chinese superiority
Donald Trump has praised China for carrying out the “unfair” trade practices he had previously lambasted. Speaking in Beijing, he said: “Who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit. But, in actuality, I do blame past administrations for allowing this out-of-control trade deficit to take place and to grow.”
‘I don’t blame China … who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens?’
DONALD TRUMP has praised China for carrying out the “unfair” trade practices he had previously lambasted after enjoying an official welcome to Beijing filled with pomp and pageantry.
Mr Trump’s comments are far removed from the rhetoric he used during the election campaign, when he accused China of “raping our country” and destroying American jobs.
Speaking in the Chinese capital yesterday, he shifted the blame for the huge trade deficit between the world’s two biggest economies on to his American predecessors.
“I don’t blame China,” Mr Trump said. “After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit. But, in actuality, I do blame past administrations for allowing this out-of-control trade deficit to take place and to grow.”
The marked change in tone came on the second day of a state visit to China – one of five countries he is visiting in a “marathon” tour of Asia.
Today, Mr Trump is expected to meet Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, despite allegations about his election campaign’s links to Russia.
Both men are attending an Asia-pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] gathering in Vietnam alongside other world leaders.
Mr Trump wants Russia to put more pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme, and the Syrian civil war is also set to be discussed.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, yesterday backed Mr Trump over holding the meeting but urged America to “keep the pressure” up on Russia.
Mr Trump made his comments on Us-china trade policy after a colourful welcome ceremony in Tiananmen Square, where children waved flags and a military band played the national anthems.
The US president held bilateral talks with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, at Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People. He urged the Chinese leader to step up efforts to rein in North Korea, which has alarmed the world this year by testing a series of missiles and carrying out its most powerful nuclear test.
“We must act fast,” Mr Trump said. “And hopefully China will act faster and more effectively on this problem than anyone.”
The day included announcements that the US and China had signed agreements valued at more than $250billion (£191billion) for products including Us-made jet engines, car parts, liquefied natural gas and beef.
Many of the contracts appeared to represent purchases that Chinese businesses would have made anyway, but were saved for Mr Trump’s visit.
China’s trade surplus with the US in October widened by 12.2 per cent from a year earlier, to $26.6billion, according to Chinese customs data.
The total surplus with the US for the first 10 months of the year rose to $223 billion.
Mr Xi pledged that “China will not close its doors” but open them “even wider”. He also said Us-china relations were at a “new historic starting point,” in comments which seemed to underline what many see as a developing “bromance” between the two leaders.