Trump's way of dealing with foreign ties overly simplistic

Except for the fact that it was bluntly straightforward, and the admission that he cherishes the "very good" phone call he had with President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump's interview with Reuters on Thursday displayed worrying misperceptions. Misperceptions that may mislead his China policies, even derail bilateral ties.

His claim that China's installation of defense facilities in the South China Sea "should not have been allowed" was not just Monday-morning quarterbacking. However, whether Washington likes it or not, as Beijing has stated, they are on Chinese territory, within Chinese sovereignty.

And since the International Monetary Fund found the value of the Chinese currency was broadly in line with Chinese economic fundamentals last year, it takes no additional defense on Beijing's part to call into question Trump's labeling China as the "grand champion at manipulation of currency". The US Treasury even reported in October that its view of China's external imbalances had improved.