Washington, Dec 4 President Donald Trump cast China as a central factor in his administration's economic and national security strategy, arguing that tariffs, tightened technology rules, and new domestic manufacturing incentives had put the United States "in the hottest country anywhere in the world."
As he rolled back Biden-era auto-efficiency regulations at an Oval Office event, Trump on Wednesday (local time) repeatedly cited China in the context of trade, artificial intelligence, semiconductor controls and lawsuits targeting his tariff program.
Trump told lawmakers and industry leaders that the United States had moved ahead of Beijing in strategic technologies. "AI, we're leading China in AI. We're leading everybody in AI. We're leading everybody in everything," he said.
He linked that assertion to his broader claim that the United States was experiencing a wave of industrial investment. "We have the hottest country anywhere in the world. One year ago, we had a dead country, and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world."
Tariffs were presented as the primary engine of that shift. "It's bringing in trillions of dollars of wealth. It's bringing in national security," Trump said. He described the use of tariffs as a geopolitical tool, declaring, "I've stopped eight wars. And of the eight wars, five of them have been because of tariffs and trade."
China featured prominently again as Trump railed against a court challenge seeking to curb his tariff authority. "The people who brought that case are bad people," he said. "They represent foreign countries, including China, but they represent… people that really don't like our country much. And I know some of them, and they're scum. In my opinion, they're scum."
The president also recounted what he described as confusion among government officials over the revenue generated by the tariff program. "The other day $30 billion, where did it come from? I said, why don't you check the tariff shelf?" he said.
When aides initially insisted the tariff had not taken effect, Trump replied, "No, it started two months ago." He added, "They called back, sir, you're right. It was from tariffs."
Semiconductors -- a core front in US-China competition -- surfaced during a brief exchange about export controls and NVIDIA's operations in China. Asked whether he had signalled to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang "where you are with export controls and the types of chips that NVIDIA can give to China," Trump said, "He knows, he knows very well."
He went on to argue that the United States was rapidly expanding its domestic chip footprint. "We're going to have a big percentage of the chip industry," he said. "As of about a year ago, two years ago, we had none, and now we're going to have a very big percentage."
Trump tied that expansion to his tariff framework, insisting that chipmakers would be compelled to build in the United States. "They have to build here; otherwise, they're going to have to pay tariffs. They won't be able to do business in the United States," he said.
China was also mentioned in an exchange about a "mileage blocker" device that auto dealers said was affecting vehicle-lease markets. National Automobile Dealers Association chairman Tom Castriota told Trump the devices were "being distributed through China through distributors selling them online through Great Britain." Trump replied, "Wow. That's so good… I've never heard of it."
Trump framed tariffs on China and other countries as the foundation of his industrial policy. "We're taking in trillions of dollars," he said. "We're stopping wars. We have great national security because of tariffs."
He also linked Chinese competition to earlier offshoring of US auto production and claimed it was now reversing. "They'd be building their plants in Mexico and other places. They're leaving Mexico, and they're leaving Canada," he said, adding that his tariff policies were the reason automakers were returning.
US-China economic tensions have intensified over tariffs, technology transfers, supply-chain security, and semiconductor export controls. The Trump administration imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods beginning in 2018, triggering retaliatory measures and prompting multinational manufacturers to reconsider production strategies.
The Trump Administration has tightened restrictions on advanced chips and AI-related hardware destined for China, citing security risks and competition concerns, while accelerating domestic chip production through incentives and reshoring policies endorsed by both political parties.
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