Schumer Statement on ZTE and Trump Administration Backing off Tough Action on China

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today released the following statement regarding the Trump administration’s economic foreign policy towards China. Axios recently reported that Secretary Mnuchin wants to cut a deal with the country in the coming weeks:

“One of the few areas where the president and I agreed, and I was vocally supportive, was his approach towards China. But even here he is backing off, and his policy is now designed to achieve one goal: make China great again.

“The toughest thing we could do, the thing that will move China the most, is taking tough action against actors like ZTE. But before it’s even implemented, the president backs off. This leads to the greatest worry, which is that the president will back off on what China fears most – a crackdown on intellectual property theft – in exchange for buying some goods in the short run. That’s a bad deal if there ever was one.”

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