WH sends brief statement on ‘productive’ call with Chinese president

“But there is some growing into the office and dealing with the real effects of some of the policies”, said Stephen Moore, a conservative economist who helped craft Trump’s economic plans.

Trump and Xi had their first face-to-face meeting last week in Florida, and North Korea was a central topic of discussion. The old Trump was right about North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Until now China was a frequent target. Not since 1994 has the United States designated China a currency manipulator. “They are on the back foot, surprised by Trump”. And the president’s interventionist response is leaving many to wonder if he is more open to the US role as world policeman than his campaign rhetoric suggested.

“It shows Xi desires to have a good relationship with Trump, but it could come at the expense of undermining ties with Russia”, Shi said.

“It’s legitimate as a candidate to run against the history of Chinese action, because that affects the American people”, he says.

Trump clearly has quite a few problems as president, but for a quick summary of why his ignorance is such a hindrance to his success, you could do worse than pointing to these two paragraphs. “And with what’s going on now, China is not a currency manipulator right now”. “What does he do, finish his dessert and go home and then they say the guy you just had dinner with just attacked a country?”

“I don’t have any advance knowledge of the report. You know, you’re talking about life and death”, he said. His latest actions relate instead to his campaign promise to “Make America Great Again” – of ensuring the United States is respected and even feared on the world stage, and is free to act unilaterally, if and when it chooses.

Baker says he’s a little disappointed that Trump seems to be dropping the currency issue. “I felt pretty strongly that they had a tremendous power over North Korea”.

“We can’t reverse history”.

“That’s what Secretary [of State John] Kerry said back in 2013”. Mr. Trump said the reason he has changed his mind on one of his signature campaign promises is that China hasn’t been manipulating its currency for months and because taking the step now could jeopardize his talks with Beijing on confronting the threat of North Korea. If anything, the summit reaffirmed for the Chinese leader that his USA counterpart talks a big game, but backs down easily. It was not immediately clear who initiated the call.

Perhaps the most visible beneficiary is Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has found his voice after an agonizingly slow start.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, asked Thursday whether the president intends to follow up on his tough campaign talk about China’s deceptive practices that contribute to huge USA trade deficits, suggested that the election rhetoric was a negotiating tactic.

Trump’s verdict, delivered in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, was the latest hint that ties between the world’s two largest economies were warming after the billionaire’s shock election ushered in a period of intense uncertainty that stirred fears of a trade war or even military confrontation. “And the free market types – which includes me, by the way – don’t want the government involved, because the Export-Import Bank doesn’t spread the money evenly”.

The US sent an aircraft carrier battle group into the area this week amid speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might conduct another nuclear test to mark his grandfather’s birthday on Saturday.

He also told the WSJ that he’d consider renominating Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve, despite criticizing her during his campaign and accusing her of being “obviously political”.