Published 10:56 IST, November 23rd 2019
Trump: Hong Kong would have been destroyed if not for me
US President Donald Trump claimed that Hong Kong would have been destroyed in 14 minutes by the Chinese forces if he would not have intervened
US President Donald Trump claimed on November 22 that Hong Kong would have been destroyed in 14 minutes by the Chinese forces if he would not have asked Chinese President President Xi Jinping to not send the military against pro-democracy protestors in the semi-autonomous territory. The US President claimed that President Xi has a million troops standing outside Hong Kong and they are not going in only because he has asked them to not. China will make a blunder if Xi sends the military against the pro-democracy protestors and it will further have a negative impact on the trade deal.
Hong Kong human rights bill passed
The US Congress passed the Hong Kong human rights bill on Wednesday putting pressure on President Donald Trump as he tries not to escalate tensions with China amid the ongoing trade war. The House made sure of a measure that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong by a 417-1 margin amid efforts to stop months-long of anti-government protests. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson of China, Geng Shuang said Beijing condemned and opposed the first bill known as the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Congress' move to pass the bills is beneficial for Trump who believes to have a China trade victory to promote the 2020 election campaign.
Trump warns China
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned China that without a trade deal it may face more tariffs. He said that if the US doesn't make a deal with China, then he threatened to increase the tariffs even higher. Trump's latest remarks came as markets are watching signs of progress in the two economic superpowers. Tensions between both countries have escalated with the US and China pulling in billions of dollars in trade tariffs. Experts said that Trump's latest comments about increasing the taxes have put them in doubt. China has pushed the US to cut the tariffs imposed on its trade. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told the media that tariff cut is an important condition for the agreement that is part of talks between the countries. American negotiators agreed to roll back penalties imposed in September on $112 billion of Chinese imports claimed Beijing in a statement last week. It was dismissed by Donald Trump a day later which created chaos in global markets. Yet Trump decided to postpone a planned tariff hike on $250 billion of Chinese goods after announcing the Phase 1 agreement on October 12. Financial officials from both countries have been negotiating the details of the agreement since then.
Updated 11:25 IST, November 23rd 2019