“Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency [making it hard for U.S. companies to compete], heavily tax our products going into their country [the US doesn’t tax them] or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea?” he demanded, adding: “I don’t think so!”
China is the United States’ largest trading partner, but America ran a $366 billion deficit with Beijing in goods and services in 2015, up 6.6 percent on the year before.
Mr. Trump has vowed to formally declare China a “currency manipulator” on the first day of his presidency, which would oblige the U.S. Treasury to open negotiations with Beijing on allowing the renminbi to rise.
With China holding about a trillion dollars in U.S. government debt, Washington would have little leverage in such talks, but the declaration would harm ties and boost the prospect of a trade war.
On Friday, Trump courted Chinese anger by accepting a congratulatory call from Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen.
