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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump's accusation of China's interference in the upcoming US elections marks a new stage in a growing campaign of pressure against Beijing that Washington is pursuing on several fronts, US officials said Thursday. .
PHOTO FILE: John Bolton, National Security Advisor at the White House, listens to US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on August 16, 2018. REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque
National Security Advisor John Bolton, long regarded as a Chinese hawk, played a key role in persuading Trump to take a firmer approach to Beijing. South China Sea, two officials told Reuters.
As the strategy continues to take shape, the attack on China is expected to lead to radical new rhetoric and unspecified political measures in the coming weeks, according to one of the officials, on condition of anonymity.
The White House has not addressed Reuters issues on these points.
Trump's statement to the UN on Wednesday that China was trying to convince the Republican Party not to offer trade proofs to Congress on 6 November has come to an increasingly tense relationship between Washington and Beijing.
This also raised questions as to whether Trump was trying to deflect the attention of an investigation into the possible links of his campaign with alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and imputed the China if Republicans do not succeed if they keep control of Congress.
The senior official insisted, however, there was a growing sense within the White House that Trump needed to recall that China was another powerful rival, besides Russia, to wage a "hybrid war" against US.
Among recent points of contention is Washington's sanction of a Chinese military agency and its director for the purchase of fighter planes and a missile system in Russia, in violation of US sanctions against Moscow . Beijing summoned the US ambassador to Beijing on Saturday and postponed the joint military talks.
"INCREASE IN PRESSURE WITHIN THE COUNCIL"
The Trump administration is seeking to push China back on several fronts, including political "influence operations," an issue Trump has recently received much more information from in his intelligence briefings, according to the official.
"We are in a situation where we can start to act with increased pressure at all levels, especially because of trade measures," said the official.
Washington has long recognized China as a major hacker of US government and corporate databases hacking, but US officials and independent analysts have said they have not detected the type of systematic political campaign, including manipulation. social media. conducted in the 2016 elections.
China has firmly denied any effort to interfere in the US elections, calling such accusations "slanderous".
On Wednesday, China's only specific action cited by Trump was "placing propaganda advertisements" in US newspapers, referring to a four-page supplement published by the Chinese government in the Sunday Des Moines Register. -China trade.
Iowa, which voted in favor of Trump in 2016, is a state whose farmers are facing damage caused by a protracted trade war, which has already generated billions of dollars in tariffs for taxes.
However, the practice of foreign governments buying space in US newspapers to promote trade is common and differs from a clandestine operation conducted by a national intelligence agency.
"The Chinese government uses all kinds of methods to try to roll back our policies," said a spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, who was asked to comment.
"They target tariffs and retaliation among farmers and workers in the states and districts who voted for President Trump, and use other political, economic, trade, military and media tools for the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. .
The Trump administration seems determined to push back more widely, even at the risk of a stern response from Beijing.
Washington, for example, is considering tougher measures against cyber-theft and cyber-espionage in China, said the US official, but declined to provide details.
Earlier this week, the US military showed its willingness to continue to oppose China's claim to the disputed South China Sea when it flew B-52 bombers overhead. the strategic waterway,
China was angry this week when the United States approved the sale of spare parts for F-16 combat aircraft and other military aircraft worth $ 330 million to Taiwan, considered by China as a province in withdrawal.
US officials, for their part, are increasingly concerned that China is no longer fully applying certain sanctions against North Korea and say it intends to maintain pressure in this area.
But some analysts have questioned the wisdom of going too far.
"Friction and leverage can be useful tools in international relations if used judiciously, especially in the face of problematic behavior like China's," said Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute. .
"But an aggressive frontal attack between sectors is unlikely to succeed, especially against a country as big and powerful as China," he said.
Reportage By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom, additional report by John Walcott and Jonathan Landay; edited by Clive McKeef
