Donald Trump Criticizes ‘Unfair’ Trade Relationship with China, Calls for a ‘Level Playing Field’
Former President Donald Trump expressed hope for a “very good relationship” with China under his leadership while also stressing the importance of establishing a “level playing field” in trade relations.
Speaking virtually at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Trump commented, “He (Xi Jinping) called me. But I see it very good. I think that we are going to have a very good relationship.” He also noted that the U.S. has been grappling with significant trade deficits with China, a situation he attributed to former President Biden’s policies.
Calling the current trade relationship “unfair,” Trump emphasized that the U.S. does not seek to take advantage of China but wants fairness in trade. He criticized the Biden administration for allowing the trade deficit to spiral out of control.
“It is just an unfair relationship. We have to make it just fair… All we want is fairness. We just want a level playing field. We don’t want to take advantage. We’ve been having massive deficits with China. Biden allowed it to get out of hand… It’s just an unfair relationship. We have to make it just fair. We don’t need it to be phenomenal; we need it to be fair,” Trump stated.
Trump also pointed out that the U.S. has been running large deficits with several countries, particularly in Asia, and stressed the need to address these imbalances moving forward.
“The deficit is massive, as it is with other countries, a lot of Asian countries. But we have deficits that are very big, and we can’t keep doing that. So, we’re not going to keep doing that,” he added.
Despite these trade issues, Trump expressed personal admiration for Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing their relationship as generally positive, even amid tensions, such as the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
“I like President Xi very much. I’ve always liked him. We’ve always had a very good relationship,” Trump said. “It was very strained with COVID coming out of Wuhan… But we’ve always had a great relationship, and we look forward to doing very well with China and getting along with China. Hopefully, China can help us stop the war with, in particular, Russia-Ukraine. They have a great deal of power over that situation.”
The WEF summit, taking place from January 20 to 24 in Davos, serves as a platform for discussing pressing global challenges, economic transformations, and sustainability goals.
In a conversation just days before his swearing-in, Trump spoke with President Xi about a range of issues, including trade, fentanyl, and TikTok. The then President-elect emphasized the expectation that the two global leaders would “solve many problems together” and do “everything possible” to make the world “more peaceful and safe.”
