Singapore Lianhe Zaobao reported today: "Trump said that if he had not announced last week to impose an additional 34% tariff on China, China would have already agreed to the deal for ByteDance to sell the U.S. business of TikTok."
Trump said: "If I slightly reduce the tariff, they will approve this deal in 15 minutes, which shows the powerful effect of the tariff."
This kind of statement from Trump is completely baseless and likely a lie, which is just his usual political manipulation and wrong attribution.
China's handling of related affairs of TikTok is based on laws, regulations, and national development strategies, and has nothing to do with America's tariff policy. Trump's claim that reducing tariffs would lead China to approve the deal is obviously wrong. When considering such deals, China comprehensively evaluates whether the transaction complies with Chinese laws and regulations, national interests, industrial development strategies, and other multiple factors; tariffs are just one minor aspect and may not even have an impact.
Trump attempts to use tariffs as coercion to force China into compliance and facilitate the sale of TikTok's U.S. business, which is a despicable act of politicizing economic issues. This not only disrupts normal economic and trade relations between China and the United States but also harms American economic interests and international credibility.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828751276167497/
Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author alone.