China, in his words · First term · № 43

On China

Named China and Russia as "rival powers" in national security strategy speech

“We also face rival powers, Russia and China, that seek to challenge American influence, values, and wealth.”

Said

December 18, 2017, Remarks on the 2017 National Security Strategy, Washington, D.C.

Subject

rival powers

Threat

Economic and military

Topic

Foreign policy

Era

First term

What the record showed

In the next sentence of the speech Trump said, "We will attempt to build a great partnership with those and other countries." He repeated the framing in his State of the Union address on January 30, 2018, citing "rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values." At Davos on January 21, 2020, six days after signing the Phase One trade agreement, he said, "Our relationship with China right now has probably never been better," and said of Xi Jinping, "He's for China; I'm for the U.S. But other than that, we love each other."

Sources

1. Remarks on the 2017 National Security Strategy The American Presidency Project, Dec 18, 2017
2. Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union The American Presidency Project, Jan 30, 2018
3. Remarks With Vice Premier Liu He of China on Signing the United States-China Phase One Trade Agreement The American Presidency Project, Jan 15, 2020
4. Remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland The American Presidency Project, Jan 21, 2020