In Beijing, Trump declines to hit President Xi Jinping on trade: ‘I don’t blame China

BEIJING — President Trump lavished praise on Chinese leader Xi Jinping here Thursday, touting "great chemistry" between them while refusing to criticize his counterpart for the trade imbalance that Trump railed against during his campaign.

Speaking at a joint appearance with Xi in front of business leaders, Trump said the U.S. trade relationship with China is "a very one-sided and unfair one." But, he quickly added: "I don’t blame China. Who can blame a country that is able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit."

During the campaign, Trump accused China of "raping" the U.S. economy and threatened to label the country a "currency manipulator" -- even though economic analysts have said Beijing has not artificially inflated the renminbi for years. In his remarks here, Trump reiterated that the United States must "change its policies," but he offered no details about actions his administration will pursue.

"We've gotten so far behind on trade with China and frankly many other countries," Trump said ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi, before adding he has "great respect" for Xi for "representing China."

Trump blamed past U.S. administrations "for having allowed it to get so far out of kilter. We'll make it fair, and it'll be tremendous for both of us. My feeling toward you is incredibly warm. We have great chemistry. I think we'll do tremendous things, China and the U.S."

Their high-stakes, two-day summit is being closely watched for signs of how the leaders of the world's two biggest economies will be able to cooperate on issues from North Korea to trade to cyber security amid mounting challenges in the Asia-Pacific. Trump is hoping to win concessions from Xi, but the Chinese leader is in a strong position after having consolidated power at a Communist Party congress last month.

The two countries announced memorandums of understanding to increase trade by $253 billion, which the leaders said was a sign of greater cooperation. - More, washingtonpost

In Beijing, Trump declines to hit President Xi Jinping on trade: ‘I don’t blame China’

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