Trump accuses China of meddling in midterms’
Donald Trump has accused China of seeking to interfere in US congressional elections in November, using his chairmanship of the UN security council to spring a surprise on his fellow world leaders.
Asked for proof, the president later cited a Chinese-funded newspaper advertisement in Iowa, a battleground state in the congressional campaign, that the Chinese government had paid for, lobbying against his trade policies, the Guardian reports.
Administration officials – who also appeared to have been taken unawares by the allegation – were able to give few other supporting details, and pointed instead to repressive actions by the Chinese government to suppress domestic dissent. The surprise claim created a short-lived storm, temporarily diverting attention from Wednesday’s security council session, which underlined Trump’s isolation at the UN over his Iran policies.
At the start of Wednesday’s meeting – whose ostensible purpose was to discuss the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – Trump said: “China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election.”
The US president did not mention Russia, which US intelligence agencies say interfered in Trump’s favour during the 2016 presidential elections – and see as the prime outside threat to the 2018 midterm vote in November.
Trump has long rejected that conclusion, and instead portrayed himself as a victim of election meddling, this time from Beijing.
“They don’t want me or us to win because I am the first president to ever challenge China on trade,” Trump
said. “We don’t want them to interfere in our upcoming election.”
The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi rejected what he described as “unwarranted accusations” against Beijing.
“China has all along followed the principle of non-interference,” Wang said. “We did not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs. We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China.”
China’s state-controlled media was more direct, saying if the country had been successful in influencing elections, the US would not have slapped billions of dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods.
“If their presidential seat can be determined by outside forces, then other countries wouldn’t have to deal with US suppression or sanctions,” said an editorial in the Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with the Communist party mouthpiece People’s Daily. “Judging from the recent hardline reactions toward China, it is unlikely that congressional leaders and the president have been turned into puppets by international hackers or businessmen.”
“It would be best if Trump could assert a level of caution when speaking at UN headquarters,” the paper added. Fabricated stories and slogans designed to trick American voters will not have the same effect with UN members.”
Asked for evidence at a press conference on Wednesday evening, Trump said: “We have evidence. It will come out.”
Pressed further by journalists, Trump pointed to a four-page insert in the Des Moines Register, paid for openly by the state-run China Daily, which argued Trump’s tariff-based trade policies would hurt Iowan soybean farmers, making it harder for them to export to China.
A commentary in the special section said the farmers were suffering because of the “the fruit of a president’s folly”.
“They have ads that are like editorials,” Trump said.
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