Trump’s economic adviser insists China deal ‘intact’ as tensions rise
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow has sought to soothe inflamed tensions between the US and China after Donald Trump increased his criticism of the Beijing regime last night.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Kudlow insisted that the landmark trade deal between the two countries remained “intact” despite the recent flare-ups.
The Chinese government has been a favoured target of the president in recent weeks for its alleged cover-up of the severity of the coronavirus outbreak.
Overnight, he accused opposite number Xi Jinping of orchestrating a “disinformation and propaganda attack on the United States and Europe”:
“China is on a massive disinformation campaign because they are desperate to have Sleepy Joe Biden win the presidential race so they can continue to rip-off the United States, as they have done for decades, until I came along!” he tweeted.
He also hit out at Chinese plans to implement new national security laws on semi-independent Hong Kong after last year’s pro-democracy protests.
Speaking to reporters, he said that the US would react “very strongly” to any attempt to increase control over the region.
Vice president Mike Pence also weighed in today, criticizing China’s handling of the virus.
The souring relations between the world’s two largest economies over the outbreak has made investors nervous about the Phase 1 trade deal signed earlier this year and stalled a strong rally in Wall Street’s main indexes this month.
The deal, which was signed in January, brought to a halt a two-year trade war between the two nations that had constrained economic activity around the world.
Wall Street slipped today on the anxieties, slipping back from the two-monthly highs it had achieved in previous sessions.
According to Kudlow, the deal is “intact and China has every intention of implementing it”.