Trump vows China’s economy won’t surpass US on his watch

Washington, D.C.: President Donald Trump said he was “very happy” with the trade war and that China wouldn’t become the world’s top superpower under his watch.

“We’re taking in billions of dollars,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Steve Hilton when asked about the end game on the trade war. “China is obviously not doing well like us.”

Trump’s comments signal he’s in no rush to get back to negotiating with Beijing after talks to end the trade conflict fell apart earlier this month. He has since raised tariffs on Chinese goods and moved to restrict Huawei Technologies Co.’s access to the US market, putting the Chinese telecom giant and scores of its affiliates on a blacklist that curtails access to key American suppliers.

China’s economy is “not great” at the moment, Trump said.

“Our economy has been fantastic. Because they were catching us, they were going to be bigger than us. If Hillary Clinton became president, China would have been a much bigger economy than us by the end of her term. And now it’s not even going to be close.”

The president also told Hilton he believed China wants to replace America as the world’s leading superpower, and it’s “not going to happen with me.”

“I think that’s their intention,” he said. “Why wouldn’t it be? I mean they’re very ambitious people, they’re very smart.”

Economists at HSBC Holdings Plc in 2018 projected China is on course to be the world’s biggest economy by 2030. The nation’s gross domestic product will stand at $26 trillion (Dh95 trillion) in 2030, while US GDP will rise to $25.2 trillion, according to the HSBC projection.

The International Monetary Fund also last year said China could become the world’s largest economy by 2030.