China, India taking advantage of US: Donald Trump

Republican presidential contender says China and India are taking advantage of American economic policies

WASHINGTON DC: Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has accused China and India of taking advantage of American economic policies, labelling China as the “number-one abuser”.

During the Republican Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Trump said China, through its economy was becoming a "major force" globally.

"If you look at the way China, India and almost everybody takes advantage of the US, China in particular, because they're so good. It's the number-one abuser of this country," Trump said.

"China is a problem, both economically in what they're doing in the South China Sea, I mean, they are becoming a very, very major force."

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The business tycoon maintained that using “currency manipulation” techniques, the countries were taking advantage of the US.

"We lose a fortune on trade. The US loses with everybody. We're now losing over $500 billion in terms of imbalance with China, $75 billion with Japan," he added.

Meanwhile, Republican contender Ben Carson focused on curbing the Russian influence in the Middle East.

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"What we have to recognise is that Putin is trying to spread his influence throughout the Middle East. This is going to be his base. And we have to oppose him there in an effective way," he said.

Jeb Bush, another party contender for the 2016 Presidential Campaign, referred to the US role in the Syrian conflict during the debate.

He said the US had an important part to play in Syria, which included supporting Syrian Free Army as well as creating safe zones to deal with the influx of refugees.

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"If you want to deal with the four million refugees leaving Syria because of the devastation, then we ought to create safe zones for them to stay in the region rather than go to Europe. And, that requires American leadership," said Bush.

"It is tragic that you see Iraq, and other countries now talking to Russia. It wasn't that long ago that Russia had no influence in the region at all. And, so, the US needs to lead across the board."

This article was originally published in The Times of India