Trump accuses China, Vietnam of 'teaming up' to hurt US amid tariff war
The US president reacted on Monday to the meeting between Xi Jinping and To Lam, alleging that they seek to weaken the position of the American power.
Vietnam's Communist Party general secretary To Lam (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands.
President Donald Trump said Monday that the purpose of the meeting in Hanoi between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the prominent Vietnamese leader, To Lam, is looking for ways to hurt his country in the context of the ongoing trade war unleashed by Washington.
"I don't blame China or Vietnam. I look at the meeting today, and it's wonderful. It's a lovely meeting, I mean, it's like trying to figure out 'how we hurt the United States,'" he explained to the media during a meeting with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele and part of his cabinet.
The Republican referred to the meeting between Xi and To, which took place on Monday at the beginning of a tour of the Chinese president through Southeast Asia in which Beijing seeks to present itself as a reliable partner in the face of the US trade onslaught.
Trump even assured that between President Xi and him there is empathy, but that the one responsible for the current situation is Joe Biden, for not having a determining position with the role of the US in the world economy, he assured.
Tariff war continues
Despite the fact that last week the American softened his offensive with most countries, he decided to punish the Asian giant, which has insisted on responding to the increase in rates, so that currently Chinese imports bear 145% of US tariffs and US shipments to China 125%.
Trump avoided pronouncing himself when asked about the imposition of specific tariffs on semiconductors, on which he said over the weekend he would announce in the coming days. However the president insisted he will be "flexible" on the possibility of taxing products from the tech giant Apple, such as phones or computers.
Xi urges Vietnam to stand with China against 'bullying' during regional tour
Xi seeks to strengthen regional trade relations and tries to present himself as a reliable and stable partner, in contrast to US President Donald Trump, who launched an all-out trade offensive with new tariffs, including against his economic partners.
The Chinese president arrived Monday in Vietnam, the first leg of his tour, which will also take him to Malaysia and Cambodia.
In the midst of a trade war with Washington, China announced Monday that its exports soared 12.4% year-on-year in March, beating expectations. The figure is more than double the 4.6% projected in a Bloomberg financial agency survey.
However, imports in the same period fell 4.3%, China's General Administration of Customs said.
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