Trump accuses China of election meddling
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Sep 30, 2018
Opening the UN Security Council meeting in NY, which was held to discuss countering nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, Mr Trump accused China of trying to interfere, without providing specific evidence.
'We have evidence. It'll come out.
The Trump administration says China is stepping up covert and overt activities to stifle free speech, punish those who support the president's tough trade stance against China and interfere in the USA political system.
"And we are winning on trade".
China and the United States have been in a battle over tariffs since his election.
Import tariffs vary by product. Why did they say Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 USA election?
Thomas Rid, a Johns Hopkins cybersecurity expert, said, "I am not aware of any evidence of Chinese interference in the midterm elections".
In response, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denied Trump's allegations, pointing out Beijing's longstanding foreign policy of non-interference.
Dan Coats, the director of United States national intelligence, told reporters on September 12 that China was one of several countries with "capabilities" to interfere in the elections.
Geng, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, defended the use of the paid insert in the Des Moines Register, saying it didn't break any United States laws.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses a U.N. Security Council meeting at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in N.Y., September 26, 2018. Trump has boasted that the US economy is performing at record levels while China's is struggling as evidence the United States is winning the dispute. They've actually admitted that they're going after farmers.
China has also expressed anger after the USA approved the sale of spare parts for F-16 fighter planes and other military aircraft worth up to $330m to self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.
With the elections less than two months away, US intelligence officials have said they are not seeing the intensity of Russian intervention registered in 2016 but are particularly concerned about activity by Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. The cyber intrusions were seen by USA officials as classic intelligence-gathering operations to glean insights into the China policies of the potential next president. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Donald Trump has accused China of election meddling during an appearance at the United Nations. We are winning on every level.
Trump said Wednesday that he instructed his national security team to warn Russian Federation about the operation after he heard about it from a supporter at a rally and read a news story. Experts say it was explicitly meant to undermine Trump.
It is not the first time someone in the Trump administration has commented on alleged Chinese election meddling.
Trump then quickly pivoted to Syria, saying, "I want to thank Iran, Russia and Syria for, at my very strong urging and request, substantially slowing down their attack on Idlib province and the 3 million people who live there".
Fleming said it's time businesses and the general public realized the extent and the seriousness of China's true intentions: to rule the world. "The world is watching".
A representative from China who attended the meeting could be seen coughing into his hand and shrugging as the president spoke.
Trump, who has long claimed that his predecessors' weak leadership prompted other nations "to laugh" at the United States appeared flustered and responded: "I didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay".
After accusing China of seeking to undermine his administration, Trump said it "has been a pleasure and an honor" to work with Xi, along with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in attempts to broker peace on the Korean Peninsula. A year ago at the UN, Trump belittled its leader Kim Jong-un as "Rocket Man" and threatened to annihilate the country, but on Wednesday he touted the "the wonderful relationship" with Kim and teased that details of a second summit between the two men could be released soon. But in that speech, too, he also called out China for its economic practices.
During a regular briefing in Beijing with reporters on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang echoed those remarks.