Wednesday, December 16, 2020

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 17, 2020

 1 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

US-China trade deficit skyrockets | DW News
Dec 16, 2020
US President Trump is on his way out, and as his successor prepares to take over, experts are wondering what will remain of Trump's policies. Especially the US' trade with China. Central to Trump's 'America First' approach were policies to reduce the US's trade deficit with China. He introduced tariffs on 360 billion dollars worth of Chinese-made products. But that seems to have failed: In November, China's global trade surplus skyrocketed to over 75 billion dollars, mostly due to strong exports to the US, which were up 46 percent on a year ago. The main reason for that: the coronavirus pandemic. With many Americans stuck at home, record amounts are being spent on a huge range of Chinese products. Meanwhile, American exports to China have only slightly improved. Agricultural products have sold well, but manufactured items have been badly hit by the pandemic.





Troubled Waters: Where the U.S. and China Could Clash in the South China Sea

Dec. 17 - Perhaps nowhere do the U.S. and Chinese militaries come closer to each other than in the South China Sea. And the brinkmanship in the waters could soon rise under President-elect Joe Biden.

As the world’s biggest economies spar on everything from trade to the coronavirus, fears have grown that a miscalculation between warships could spark a wider military confrontation. Although top defense officials from the U.S. and China have maintained communication even as broader relations have deteriorated, more fervent nationalism in both countries raises the political stakes of any crisis.

President Donald Trump’s administration has increased the number of “freedom of navigation operations”—known as FONOPs—in the South China Sea to challenge China’s sovereignty claims. The current round of maneuvers, which involve naval vessels sailing within territorial limits of land features claimed by China, reached a new high of 10 last year after a total of just five in the last two years of the Obama administration.
Biden looks set to maintain or even expand the number of FONOPs. Jake Sullivan, his pick for national security adviser, last year lamented the U.S.’s inability to stop China from militarizing artificial land features in the South China Sea, and called for the U.S. to focus more on freedom of navigation.     continue to read





Donald Trump Turns Fire on Mitch McConnell for Accepting Joe Biden Win

Dec. 17 - President Donald Trump dismissed Sen. Mitch McConnell's congratulations of President-elect Joe Biden following the Electoral College vote, telling the Senate Majority Leader it is "too soon to give up."

The Kentucky Republican had acknowledged Biden as the presidential election victor on Tuesday in a floor speech.

In a message to McConnell, shared on Twitter, Trump referenced his popular vote tally and said: "Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!"     continue to read

Trump's allies slam Mitch McConnell for congratulating Biden https://t.co/ak9nu6420L via @MailOnline. Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2020
PBS NewsHour full episode, Dec. 17, 2020
Dec 16, 2020
Wednesday on the NewsHour, an economic aid package is in reach as Congress moves closer to a deal, despite a surge in infections and deaths local officials face some backlash against vaccinations from politicians and the public, and a look at why communities of colors suffer disproportionate rates of childhood trauma in the United States.

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