President Donald Trump is suggesting the U.S. could cut trade ties with China amid tensions during the coronavirus pandemic.
During an appearance on Fox Business Thursday, Trump discussed the United States’ current trade deal with China.
The president expressed his disappointment in China over the coronavirus, revealing the pandemic response has him skeptical of maintaining a long-term relationship with the populous country.
“I’m very disappointed in China. I will tell you that right now,” Trump said.
He said, “China… I made a great trade deal. The ink wasn’t even dry when the plague came over. But the ink wasn’t even dry.”
Later in the interview, Trump discussed international trade, mentioning his disappointment with China a second time.
“They should have never let this happen. So I make a great trade deal and now I say it just doesn’t feel the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn’t feel the same to me,” Trump said.
When asked if he thinks China will “renege” on the deal, Trump made it clear that because of the alleged mishandling of the pandemic, he has no plans to renegotiate the trade deal.
He said, “They said somewhere I see they’d like to renegotiate the deal, we’re not going to renegotiate. Look, I’m not happy about anything having to do with that particular subject right now.”
See Trump’s remarks below:
Mulling over the idea of no longer doing business with China, Trump said, “You could also stop doing business with them. That’s one thing.”
Trump went on to argue that the United States has “lost a fortune” dealing with China.
He went on to blame previous administrations — singling out former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden — for China ripping off the United States.
“The people sitting in this seat have allowed China to rip us off like never before. That includes President Obama Biden — ‘Sleepy Joe.’ He allowed them to rip this country off. We spent hundreds of billions. We gave them hundreds of billions of dollars, year-in and year-out.”
Asked about his relationship with Xi Jinping, China’s president, he noted that they are amicable but he has no interest in speaking with him right now.
When Bartiromo alluded to the idea of cutting off Visas for Chinese students, Trump suggested that it may be beneficial for the United States to sever the entire relationship.
“There are many things we could do,” Trump said. “We could cut off the whole relationship. Now, if you did, what would happen? You’d save $500 billion if you cut off the whole relationship.”