China, in his words · First term · № 40

On China

Said he was "very disappointed in China" over trade profits and North Korea

“I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet... ...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!”
Said
, Two consecutive posts on Twitter (@realDonaldTrump)
Subject
trade and North Korea
Threat
Economic and military
Topic
Trade & tariffs
Era
First term

What the record showed

On November 9, 2017, at a business event with Xi Jinping in Beijing, Trump said of the trade imbalance, "I don't blame China," and added, "I give China great credit." He tweeted the same day that he blamed "the incompetence of past Admins" and that "I would've done same!" The U.S. goods trade deficit with China was $375.2 billion in 2017 and $418.2 billion in 2018, according to Census Bureau figures.

Sources

  1. Tweet: 'I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet...' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Jul 29, 2017
  2. Tweet: '...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk.' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Jul 29, 2017
  3. Remarks at a Business Event With President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing, China The American Presidency Project, Nov 9, 2017
  4. Tweet: 'I don't blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Nov 9, 2017
  5. Trade in Goods with China U.S. Census Bureau, Sep 28, 2026