Trump: China is trying to interfere in November election
Chinese tariffs on soybeans part of effort
UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump unexpectedly used a high-level United Nations meeting Wednesday to accuse China of seeking to meddle in the November midterm election in retaliation for the worsening U.S. trade war with Beijing.
“China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election … against my administration,” said Trump, who was leading his first Security Council meeting. “They do not want me, or us, to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade.”
A senior administration official later said the Chinese effort involved propaganda, including newspaper ads, and retaliatory trade tariffs to target soybean farmers in the Midwest who supported Trump in the past election.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, quickly rejected Trump’s “unwarranted accusations.” “We did not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs,” he told the General Assembly.
U.S. national security officials have previously warned of digital efforts by China and other countries related to the Nov. 6 election. But Trump had not previously singled Beijing out for criticism on a charge that is politically problematic for the White House.
He has repeatedly dismissed the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that Moscow directed an extensive campaign of computer hacking and social media during the 2016 election to help Trump win. During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, Trump suggested he believed Kremlin denials more than U.S. evidence, but later backtracked.
Speaking later Wednesday to reporters, Trump repeated his charge that China is “trying to meddle in our elections. And we’re not going to let that happen, just as we’re not going to let that happen with Russia.”