Twitter user and President-elect Donald Trump used the micro-blogging platform to criticize China’s trade policies on Sunday. Trump regularly uses this platform to attend to international relations and macroeconomics.
Image: FlickrTrump and Twitter can’t be separated
In his two tweets, Trump said, “Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the US doesn’t tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don’t think so!”
Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016
It is for you to decide whether that tweet is helpful, wise or accurate. However, one might conclude that it is heartening that a president opt for straightforward conversations rather than whispers. However, once a tweet is out on social media, it can’t be taken back. What is certain is that no head or president of a country has ever attempted to irritate, intimidate or even perplex another country like this, notes CNET
This outburst by Trump came a day after Saturday Night Live mocked him for obsessive tweeting. On the same morning, he threatened U.S. companies with heavy taxes if they move their businesses abroad and fire American workers. He made that threat on Twitter as well.
Trump vs. China
Trump’s latest words for China can be seen as a continuation of what he did last week when he spoke to the Taiwanese president. China sees Taiwan as part of it, not as an independent country. The two countries enjoy a fragile peace marked by rising economic integration and political rhetoric.
China lodged a diplomatic protest with the U.S. over the call. Trump explained that Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen had called him instead of him calling the latter. Again, he explained this on Twitter.
China’s central bank does heavily manipulate the country’s currency markets, yet the country’s real exchange rate has increased almost 40% since 2004, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Last year, the International Monetary Fund announced that the renminbi was not undervalued anymore, according to The Los Angeles Times.
During his campaign, Trump slammed Beijing for taking U.S. jobs. He claimed that China was using his country as a piggy bank to rebuild China and was devaluing its currency intentionally to increase exports.
“They’re the best, the best ever at it,” he remarked.
