“I see China’s hands all over this,” the South Carolina Republican declares.
The Chinese government is behind North Korea’s condemnation of the U. S. after the latest round of denuclearization talks, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday, mixing the Washington-Beijing trade dispute with news of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s talks in Pyongyang.
North Korea, in a statement released Saturday hours after talks with Pompeo wrapped, called the negotiations “regrettable” and accused the U. S. of making “gangster-like” demands, according to The Associated Press. Earlier, Pompeo had told reporters that the talks had been “productive” and had progressed “in good faith.”
“I see China’s hands all over this. We’re in a fight with China,” Graham (R-S. C.), a Senate Armed Services Committee member, told “Fox News Sunday.” “If I were President Trump, I would not let China use North Korea to back me off of the trade dispute. We’ve got more bullets than they do when it comes to trade.”
The tough talk from North Korea, for whom China is the chief trade partner and international patron, came days after President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on China, prompting retaliatory tariffs from Beijing.
