Top aides to Donald Trump have sought to placate China, insisting the country is vital to resolving the nuclear crisis over North Korea’s nuclear programme, even as the administration prepares its first direct trade attack on Beijing.
Mr Trump is expected to sign a presidential memorandum on Monday asking his top trade negotiator to examine launching an investigation into China’s intellectual property regime. Administration officials say the move signals a tough new US approach to Beijing’s unfair trade practices.
The step could lead to US tariffs and other restrictions on Chinese imports within a year in what many see as the potential first step towards a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.