Trump treads lightly with China despite sweeping election claims

Missing from President Trump’s sweeping claims Thursday night about Chinese meddling in the 2020 election was any mention of penalties against Beijing, an omission that points to his desire to maintain a fragile truce ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected state visit to the U.S. in two months.

Experts say Trump may have withheld action against China for another reason: because there was no interference. Trump was careful in his speech not to accuse China of changing any votes or impacting the outcome.

“Trump has clearly calculated that this gambit, however unsubstantiated with respect to China, is not going to be so significant as to blow up the rapprochement,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she focuses on national security and strategy issues in Asia.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News that Xi’s September visit remains on track. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, while denouncing Trump’s accusations, did not address a reporter’s question Friday on whether Xi was rethinking his visit to Washington.

“We urge the U.S. to stop framing China for election purpose and act in ways conducive to China-U.S. relations,” Lin responded.

Chinese officials welcomed another move by the Trump administration on Friday, allowing a 2020 sanctions package over China’s takeover of Hong Kong to expire.

China’s Ministry of Commerce reportedly described the move as an important step in advancing trade ties between China and the U.S.

“I expect that President Trump’s allegations of Chinese election interference in the 2020 election… will have less of a thunderclap on the U.S.-China relationship than many expect or wish for,” Ryan Haas, director of the China and Taiwan studies programs at the Brookings Institution, posted on X.

“Beijing will interpret Trump’s accusations as reflecting the actions of a diminishing president of a declining country. PRC [People’s Republic of China] leaders also can read U.S. polling and know that Trump’s approval rating is stuck in the 30s and that his desired........

© The Hill