China, in his words · 2016 campaign · № 35

On China

Tweeted that China devalued its currency and built a 'massive military complex' without asking

“Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into.. their country (the U.S. doesn't tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!”
Said
, Two consecutive posts on Twitter (@realDonaldTrump)
Subject
currency, South China Sea
Threat
Economic and military
Topic
Foreign policy
Era
2016 campaign

What the record showed

He posted the tweets two days after taking a phone call from Taiwan's president on December 2, 2016. On April 12, 2017, days after hosting Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, he told The Wall Street Journal of China, 'They're not currency manipulators,' and on April 16 he tweeted, 'Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem?' On the South China Sea, his State Department declared on July 13, 2020 that Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the sea were 'completely unlawful.'

Sources

  1. Tweet: 'Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Dec 4, 2016
  2. Tweet: 'or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Dec 4, 2016
  3. Tweets of December 4, 2016 The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara), Dec 4, 2016
  4. Donald Trump questions 'one China' policy Al Jazeera, Dec 12, 2016
  5. In Major Reversal, Trump Says China 'Not Currency Manipulators' NBC News, Apr 12, 2017
  6. Tweets of April 16, 2017 The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara), Apr 16, 2017
  7. U.S. Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea U.S. Department of State, Jul 13, 2020