AFTER their first meeting in Florida in April, President Donald Trump enthused about his Chinese opposite number, Xi Jinping: “We had a great chemistry, not good but great.” But as the two leaders prepare for a second meeting, this time in Hamburg at a gathering on July 7th and 8th of the G20 group of countries, the sweetness of their citrus summit has turned sour.
Over the past fortnight, in a calculated escalation of criticism, America’s State Department downgraded China to the lowest ranking in its annual report on human trafficking. Then the Treasury said it would impose sanctions on the China-based Bank of Dandong because, it claimed, the bank was helping North Korea’s government to finance a ballistic-missile programme. Next the State Department approved the sale of arms worth $1.4bn to Taiwan, which China says is a mere province of the People’s Republic (the sale must still be approved by America’s Congress).
Three days later, the Pentagon sent a destroyer...Continue reading
Source: China http://ift.tt/2uOLwaf
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