Trump says he had to 'take China on', regardless of short-term impact on US economy

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said trade war with China as Beijing has been “grifting off” America for decades. “Whether it’s good or bad, the short term is irrelevant. We have to solve the problem with China because they’re taking out US dollar 500 billion a year plus. And that doesn’t include intellectual property theft and other things, Trump said.

"And also, national security, so I am doing this whether it’s good or bad for your statement about, Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months. The fact is, somebody had to take China on, he said responding to a question on reports that the US is heading for a recession because of its trade war with China.

“My life would be a lot easier if I didn’t take China on. But I like doing it because I have to do it. And we’re getting great help. China’s had the worst year they’ve had in 27 years, and a lot of people saying the worst year they’ve had in 54 years, he asserted.

“We’re doing very well with China, but somebody had to take China on. I read and I see so much and I read so much, and I’ll see the economists say, Oh, Give up! Give up on China! Give up! China’s been grifting off this country for 25 years, but longer than that, he said.

Earlier, Donald Trump had said, China wants to settle trade issues with America as it is experiencing the “worst year” in decades, but reiterated that he was not ready for a deal. The US has imposed 25 per cent additional import tariffs on more than USD 250 billion worth of Chinese products. An additional 10 per cent import duties on remaining nearly USD 300 billion worth of Chinese products is all set to come into effect on September 1.

“China wants to settle this deal. They’ve had the worst year that they’ve had in many, many decades. It’s getting only worse. Thousands of companies are leaving China. They would like to make a deal. I’m not ready to make a deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House.