Trump in Asia
In Vietnam, Trump returns to his 'America first' rhetoric at Asia-Pacific economic summit
On Thursday, President Trump told Chinese business leaders that he doesn't blame China for its "very one-sided and unfair" trade relationship with the U.S. "Who can blame a country that is able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens?" he added. "I give China great credit." Hours after arriving in Vietnam from Beijing on Friday, Trump told business leaders at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang that he is "not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore. I am always going to put America first," adding, "From this day forward we will compete on a fair and equal basis."
Trump said that in Japan, South Korea, and China, he has had the pleasure of sharing the "good news from America," arguing that "the whole world is lifted by America's renewal." Trump will spend two days in Vietnam, where 58 percent of the population says it is confident in his ability to guide world affairs, according to a Pew poll. The Vietnamese are wary of China, their expansionist neighbor to the north, and especially disappointed at Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.