Chinese Finance Minister Calls Donald Trump ‘Irrational’
One of the pivotal selling points of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has been his “deal making abilities.” He claims the United States has gotten “ripped off” on specific deals with other countries. The Iran nuclear deal was a huge aspect of his campaign, and he often bashes President Barack Obama for proposing it. Over the past couple of months, Trump has made various proposals focusing on American trade “deals” with China. For the first time, a top official from China spoke to the media and decided to call Trump’s bluff.
The British Broadcasting Channel reported these comments from Trump about American trade with China.
“We talk about free trade. It’s not tree free trade, it’s stupid trade. China dumps everything that they have over here.”
The real estate mogul has been known to have very controversial views on China over the years. It could perfectly be described as a “love and hate” relationship between the two. These days it has been more on the “hate side.”
The Wall Street Journal interviewed top China official, Lou Jiwei, and managed to get some comments from him about Trump. It was his first foreign interview in four years.
“Don’t take the rhetoric in a presidential campaign too seriously. Trump is an irrational type.”
Real Clear Politics reported Trump’s reactions to the comments. They shockingly weren’t as attacking and derogatory as they normally are.
“And I’m not angry about China, in fact I respect them… I’m angry at our leaders for being so incompetent that they allow it to happen. And I said this as part of my response to the Wall Street Journal when they just called. I said, in the history of the world, this is the greatest theft ever perpetrated by anyone or any country, what China has done to us.”
Trump is probably taking these comments from the Jiwei with a grain of salt. No one person has really made him change his views on anything as of yet. However, fighting fire with fire is soon going to come to an end for Trump.
These comments from Jiwei should be a wake up call for Trump. His tough rhetoric isn’t going to bully some of the most powerful countries in the world around. Surprisingly enough, his response to Jiwei wasn’t as bad as most would think. It is a sign for what is next to come in the Trump campaign.
If Trump does become president and attempts to get the so-called “deal” that he wants with China, the repercussions could be detrimental to the American economy.
Trump has previously stated that he would impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the United States. The move could cause a trade war between the two countries. China and the United States are two of the biggest economic conglomerates in the world. This tariff would not only affect each respective country, but it could drag other countries’ economies down as well.
American jobs could also be at stake if this tariff was imposed. The Huffington Post reported that the tariff would indirectly hurt American workers. The World Trade Organization would tell China to issue a countermeasure. This would decrease the amount of goods that the United States exports to China given the fact that the new prices would be so high. That could have serious repercussions to the American workers who help provide top China exports.
American consumers would likely buy fewer goods from China because the new prices would be so high. Around 20 percent of American goods are imported from China. That increases the price of various goods that most Americans probably buy every single day. Well known products like baseballs, Barbie dolls, and Levi’s jeans would see significant price increases because they are all made in China.
As Trump inches closer to the Republican nomination he may become more calm. The act he has put on since he declared he was running for president won’t work in the general election. His more recent responses suggest a change in his game plan. However, suggesting a trade tariff like this in a one on one with the Democratic presidential nominee could spell out the end for Trump.
[Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images]
