Donald Trump is already making plans for his possible second term in office. His relationship with China is anything but clear.
Washington, DC – Donald Trump is still fighting for his party's candidacy in the Republican primaries for the 2024 US elections – so far with success. It is not yet clear whether the 77-year-old will make it in the end. For the presidential election in November, everything currently points to a rematch of the race between him and the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden. During his term as president, he instigated trade conflicts with China and the EU. If Trump ultimately beats Biden and becomes US President again, many fear that Trump would cause additional chaos to the already tense world situation.
What happens if the ex-president moves back into the White House? When asked about relations with China, Trump said on Sunday (February 4) that if he were to become president again, he would consider imposing tariffs of over 60% on all Chinese imports. His comments come at a time of high economic and other tensions between the United States and China. “No, I would say it might be more than that,” Trump said on Fox News' “Sunday Morning Futures” when asked if he would consider imposing 60% tariffs would.
Donald Trump: “I want China to be great”
As president, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods in June 2018. Beijing countered with tariffs of its own, and the spiral continued until the two countries reached an agreement in 2020. The Biden administration has largely retained Trump-era tariffs.
The former president also said he believes China will try to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. “I think they will, and they won’t interfere on my behalf. We should do the election on the same day, paper ballots, voter IDs and no mail-in ballots,” Trump said.
Trump, however, praised China's President Xi Jinping, whom he called “a very good friend during my time in office,” and said: “I want China to be great, I want that.” Trump declined to comment on whether he would intervene , if China tried to take over Taiwan, arguing that it would “jeopardize my ability to negotiate with China.”
US China policy: Ex-ambassador wants a rethink
The former State Secretary in the Foreign Office and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, Wolfgang Ischinger, would now like the future American President to rethink China policy. Opposite Phoenix Ischinger recently said: “It would be a smart policy on the American side to approach China and encourage China to exert more and more pressure on its aggressive partner Russia.”
However, he believes the chances of such a change under a possible President Trump are slim. “I’m afraid we can hardly expect that from Donald Trump,” said Ischinger. Instead, he expects that the “hard edge” course that the Biden administration has shown in dealing with China will be intensified if Donald Trump wins the election. From his point of view, Ischinger continued, in view of Russian aggression it would be wiser to seek solidarity with China instead of focusing on rivalry. (skr, dpa, afp)
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