Trump: "Our Allies Have Taken More Advantage of the U.S. in Trade Than China... Not Our Friends"

Pointing Out Trade Surpluses of U.S. Allies

On November 10 (local time), President Donald Trump stated in an interview with Fox News that "our allies have taken advantage of us more in trade than China has," in response to comments made by a Chinese diplomat targeting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun, on November 7, after Prime Minister Takaichi remarked that Japan could exercise collective self-defense in the event of a Taiwan contingency, Xue Zhen, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, posted on social networking services (SNS) that "there is no choice but to cut off the dirty neck," a post that was later deleted.

Donald Trump, President of the United States. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

When the host brought up this incident and asked, "They (China) are not our friends, are they?" President Trump replied, "Many of our allies are not our friends either." He also said, "China has taken great advantage of us," but added, "our allies have taken advantage of us more in trade than China has."

This statement points out that while the United States' allies have received security support from the U.S., they have also run large trade surpluses with the country. Trump mentioned these allies in a more negative light than China, the United States' biggest strategic competitor.

Since the U.S.-China summit on October 30, President Trump has shown a relatively conciliatory attitude toward China. In an interview with CBS's current affairs program "60 Minutes," aired on November 2, he said, "I believe that by cooperating with them (China), we can become bigger, better, and stronger, rather than simply overpowering them."

In the Fox News interview, President Trump said, "Thanks to tariffs, we had tremendous power when dealing with China," and added, "They have many missiles, but we also have many missiles." He also stated that he maintains a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Regarding the federal government shutdown, which entered its 41st day as of that day, Trump said he is preparing legislation to prevent a recurrence.

President Trump recently faced strong criticism for raising the possibility of introducing 50-year mortgage loans. In response to a related question, he said, "It's not a big deal at all," explaining, "It just means the borrower can make smaller payments each month and repay over a longer period of time."

He also stated that accepting foreign students is "a good thing," and warned that reducing the number of international students would be financially devastating for the U.S. higher education system.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Alshara, the interim president of Syria, who met with President Trump at the White House that day, said in a separate interview with Fox News that his past involvement with extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda affiliates, was "a thing of the past," and that it was not discussed during the summit.