On return to Washington from the longest Asian trip by an American president in more than a quarter century, President Donald Trump on Wednesday termed the 12-day, five-nation visit a “tremendous success” in respect of pressuring a recalcitrant North Korea and boosting US trade relations with Asian nations.
“My fellow citizens, America is back. And the future has never looked brighter,” Trump said in a televised address to the nation that was replete with gung-ho assertions. Ahead of that, in a series of tweets, Trump proclaimed: “Our great country is respected again in Asia. You will see the fruits of our long but successful trip for many years to come!”
On North Korea, Trump touted the new sanctions that Japan has slapped in the wake of his visit, and China’s decision to send an envoy and delegation to Pyongyang, tweeting, “A big move, we’ll see what happens!”
Beijing, however, appeared to differ with Trump’s other assertion that he and President Xi Jinping had disavowed the “freeze-for-freeze” approach vis-à-vis North Korea on moves to denuclearise the Korean peninsula. Hours after Trump’s remarks, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry defended such an approach, terming dialogue the only solution. “Suspension-for-suspension is the most realistic, viable and reasonable solution in the current situation,” the
Chinese spokesman was quoted as saying. Trump, in his White House address, referred to his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Japanese and Australian Prime Ministers to discuss “our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”, declaring: “The United States will promote a free and open Indo-Pacific in which nations enjoy the independence and respect they deserve”.
“The momentum from our trip will launch us on our continued effort to accomplish the three core objectives I outlined: to unite the world against North Korean nuclear threat, to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and to advance fair and reciprocal economic relations with our trading partners and allies in the region,” Trump said.
Trump also claimed a major success on rectifying trade deals that had been “unfair” to America over the years, saying, “We have established a new framework for trade that will ensure reciprocity through enforcement actions, reform of international organisations, and new fair trade deals that benefit the United States and our partners.”
“We have laid out a pathway toward peace and security in our world, where sovereign nations can thrive, flourish and prosper side by side. This is our beautiful vision for the future,” he said, asserting his message has resonated throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Democrats, however, came down heavily on Trump’s trip, with Senate Minority leader Charles Schumer terming it a “colossal flop”. “I have never been so ashamed of a foreign trip in my years. It’s just inside-out,” Schumer said in a speech on Senate floor. “We attack our friends and the people who have given us the most trouble, China and Russia, we mollycoddle — that is so bad for the future of this country.”
Questioning Trump’s claims of success in talks with President Xi, Democratic Senator Edward Markey commented: “President Trump was too distracted by the pomp and circumstance in Beijing to extract meaningful economic and security concessions from China.”
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, however, asserted that Trump’s visit showed the world that the United States was ready to lead again. The trip helped strengthen the international community’s commitment to addressing the security threats posed by North Korea, Haley said, noting: “Now more than ever, Kim Jong-Un is isolated and feeling the pinch from the strongest set of sanctions ever passed by the UN Security Council.”