President Trump has offered a muted response to the months-long protests that have rocked Hong Kong since June, and Trump’s trade war with China may have been the reason.
In a June phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump mentioned the political prospects of his Democratic rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and also promised to stay quiet the Hong Kong protests as long as trade talks progressed.
A transcript of the call between them was stored in a highly secured electronic system, CNN reported, which was also used to log a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During this call, Trump repeatedly pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Biden and his son ahead of the 2020 election.
Biden is a frontrunner in the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
The Financial Times had also reported in July that Trump promised to mute support for the anti-China movement in Hong Kong in exchange for re-opening trade talks.
It’s not clear if the two outlets were reporting on the same conversation.
US-China trade negotiations remain deadlocked, with the US reading a 30% tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods later this month.
The phone call between Zelensky and Trump is at the center of a whistleblower complaint which alleges that Trump used the power of his office to “solicit interference from a foreign country” for personal gain.
The complaint has sparked a House’s impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Warren responded to news of Trump’s call with Xi on Thursday, tweeting that Trump was “sell[ing] out the people of Hong Kong behind closed doors.”
Trump can say what he wants about me, but it’s outrageous that any president would sell out the people of Hong Kong behind closed doors.
The public must see the transcript of Trump’s call with Xi. And we need a leader who will stand up for our values.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 3, 2019
Details of Trump’s call with Xi followed comments made by Trump on Thursday, in which he suggested that China should investigate Biden.
“China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine,” Trump told reporters in the White House lawn.
There has been no evidence of illegal activity by Biden or his son in Ukraine or China, despite Trump’s claims.
Chinese officials were baffled by Trump’s comments. CNN said it was unclear if China would be launching an investigation, or if they would publicize such a move.
“This is quite chaotic,” a Chinese diplomat told CNN. “We do not want to get in the middle of the US politics.”