China, in his words · First term · № 61
Called China "a threat to the world" for building its military with "U.S. money"
“Well, obviously, China is a threat to the world in a sense, because they're building a military faster than anybody. And frankly, they're using U.S. money. Presidents before me have allowed China to take out $500 billion a year, and it's really more than that. They've allowed China to steal our intellectual property and property rights. And I'm not doing that.”
- Said
- , Exchange with reporters before a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the White House
- Subject
- military buildup
- Threat
- Economic and military
- Topic
- Foreign policy
- Era
- First term
What the record showed
Trump was answering a question on whether he saw China as a strategic threat; later in the same exchange he said, "I view China in many different ways, but right now I'm thinking about trade." He announced a Phase One trade deal on December 13, 2019. At Davos on January 21, 2020, he said, "Our relationship with China right now has probably never been better," and said of Xi Jinping, "we love each other." Census Bureau figures show the annual U.S. goods deficit with China peaked at $418.2 billion in 2018 and has never reached $500 billion.