Moscow and Beijing are priorities of new U.S. administration

In his first full interview of the new year, President-elect Donald Trump explains his approach to foreign policy from a "realpolitik" lens, when he told the WSJ overnight that relations with China and Russia will depend on the degree to which the two countries cooperate with U.S. economic, diplomatic and military priorities. Trump says he would keep intact sanctions against Russia imposed by the Obama administration “at least for a period of time”; says he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The interview comes one day after China's incensed press rebuked a statement by Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing, when he said that China will not be granted access to the disputed South China Sea islands, responding that "such remarks are not worth taking seriously because they are a mish-mash of naivety, shortsightedness, worn-out prejudices, and unrealistic political fantasies" and  "would set a course for devastating confrontation between China and the US."

Mr. Trump seemed impatient with diplomatic protocols involving China and Taiwan. After his victory he took a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s leader, triggering objections from Beijing and stoking concerns among some U.S. foreign policy experts who questioned whether he understood the implications of such a conversation. Speaking of Taiwan, he said: “We sold them $2 billion of military equipment last year. We can sell them $2 billion of the latest and greatest military equipment but we’re not allowed to accept a phone call. First of all it would have been very rude not to accept the phone call.”

On the other hand, Trump also made a point of showing a holiday greeting card he received from China’s leader, Xi Jinping. “I have a beautiful card from the chairman,” he said. Trump also made news when he said that he would not label China a currency manipulator on his first day in the White House. Previously Trump has said in the past he would label China a currency manipulator after he takes office. In the interview, he said he wouldn’t take that step on his first day in the White House. “I would talk to them first,” he said. He added: “Certainly they are manipulators. But I’m not looking to do that.” But he made plain his displeasure with China’s currency practices. “Instead of saying, ‘We’re devaluating our currency,’ they say, ‘Oh, our currency is dropping.’ It’s not dropping. They’re doing it on purpose. “Our companies can’t compete with them now because our currency is strong and it’s killing us.”

As explained previously China is indeed manipulating its currency, although over the past 18 months it has been doing so in the other direction, intervening to support it from weakening further as a result of hundreds of billions in capital outflows, which have resulted in unprecedented capital controls.