Donald Trump links two hot issues: the diplomatic (the crisis in Hong Kong) and the economic (trade negotiations). On Wednesday, August 15, he said that China wants to conclude a trade agreement with the United States but that the current priority of Beijing should be the question of Hong Kong, calling on the Chinese government a "human" resolution to the crisis in the region special administrative system.
The US president made the statement a few hours after the State Department warned that any deterioration in the autonomy enjoyed by the former British colony would jeopardize Hong Kong's preferential trade status vis-à-vis states. -United.
A meeting with Xi Jinping
Donald Trump's Twitter post suggests that he is proposing to talk with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to help overcome the crisis in the semi-autonomous city.
Wednesday, Beijing has assimilated the protest movement in Hong Kong to "terrorism" in the aftermath of new clashes at the airport in the city. Protesters expressed remorse after a peaceful sit-in at Hong Kong airport flipped into violence. It was difficult to determine for the time being whether these incidents affected the support enjoyed by the protest movement among the people in Hong Kong.
Air traffic resumed Wednesday after two days of disruption that resulted in the cancellation of more than a thousand flights.
"Zero doubt"
"Of course China wants to conclude a trade agreement," Donald Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night. "Let them first work humanely with Hong Kong!", He added. "I have ZERO doubts that if President Xi wants to solve the problem quickly and humanly in Hong Kong, he can do it." Personal interview? ", Continued Donald Trump.
The US President, who wants to conclude a major trade deal with Beijing to correct the US trade deficit vis-à-vis China, has drawn criticism for describing the Hong Kong protests as "riots" .
Voices in Congress, both in the Democratic and Republican ranks, rose to ask Donald Trump to adopt a tougher line with regard to Beijing on the Hong Kong issue.
Debate at the White House
This new positioning of Trump follows a debate in the White House and the State Department to determine whether the United States appeared too complacent with China, said an informed source, while fears of intervention Chinese military in the former British colony are growing.
Earlier Wednesday, a US State Department spokeswoman said the United States was "deeply worried" about the Chinese troop movements they saw on the edge of Hong Kong.
A 1992 US law gives Hong Kong preferential trade and investment treatment over China. This also concerns the granting of visas.
New events are expected from Thursday in different parts of Hong Kong, including a gathering of teachers. The activists behind the big demonstrations in June, which brought together several million people, planned new actions on Sunday.
With Reuters