‘Rookie’ Trump rapped

PROVOCATION: Messing up Sino-US relations won’t help ‘make America great again’, says Chinese daily

DONALD Trump is a “diplomatic rookie” who must learn not to cross Beijing on issues like trade and Taiwan, Chinese state media said yesterday, warning the United States could pay dearly for his inexperience.

A protocol-shattering call with Taiwan’s president followed by a Twitter tirade against Beijing’s policies by the president-elect could risk upending the delicate balance between the two largest economies in the world, Chinese editorials in major media outlets said.

“Provoking friction and messing up China-US relations won’t help ‘make America great again’,” said a front-page opinion piece in the overseas edition of Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.

The Chinese edition of the patriotic Global Times newspaper also ran a page-one story damning Trump’s “provocation and falsehood”.

Trump sent out two tweets on Sunday blasting China for devaluing its currency, taxing US imports and building military installations in the South China Sea.

The comments followed criticism of Trump in US and Chinese media for taking a congratulatory call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that upended nearly 40 years of diplomatic protocol and raised questions about whether the he intends to pursue a hard line against China.

The English edition of the Global Times filled its opinions pages with editorials slamming the presidentelect.

“Trump’s China-bashing tweet is just a cover for his real intent, which is to treat China as a fat lamb and cut a piece of meat off it,” it said, adding: “We must confront Trump’s provocation head on.” AFP