Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1188660
28.11.19 14 TRADE Trump says near deal with China, but US also has eye on Hong Kong US President Donald Trump speaks while signing an Executive Order "Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives" in the Oval Office of the White House US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States was in the "fi- nal throes" in its attempt to reach a trade deal with China, but that at the same time Washington stands with protesters in Hong Kong, where it wants to see de- mocracy. At an Oval Office event to sign an execu- tive order to address violence against Na- tive American women, Trump was asked by a reporter if he had a message for the people of Hong Kong after their recent local election, in which pro-democracy parties scored a resounding victory. "We're with them," Trump said. "I have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Xi. We're in the final throes of a very important deal, I guess you could say one of the most important deals in trade ever. It's going very well but at the same time we want to see it go well in Hong Kong. "And I think it will. I think that Presi- dent Xi can make that happen. I know him and I know he'd like to make it hap- pen." Trump was not specifically asked about congressional legislation to back protest- ers in Hong Kong that is sitting on his desk after being passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives last week. e legislation has greatly angered Bei- jing and Trump has been vague about whether he would sign or veto it as he tries to strike a deal with China to end a damaging 16-month trade war. On Friday, Trump boasted that he alone had prevented Beijing from crushing the demonstrations with a million soldiers, while adding that he had told Chinese President Xi Jinping that doing so would have "a tremendous negative impact" on trade talks. Trump prompted questions about his commitment to protecting freedoms in Hong Kong when he referred in August to its mass street protests as "riots" that were a matter for China to deal with. Trump again referred to "riots" on Fri- day, but he has also called on China to handle the issue humanely, while warn- ing repeatedly of the impact on trade talks. e new legislation, approved unani- mously by the Senate and by all but one House lawmaker, requires the State De- partment to certify, at least annually, that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable U.S. trading terms that have helped it maintain its position as a world financial centre. It also threatens sanctions for human rights violations. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked at a news conference whether he expected Trump to approve the legisla- tion and said he did not want to "get out in front of what he will do before too long," but the department would comply with whatever it was required to do by statute. "e United States continues to sup- port democratic values, fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong as guaranteed by the one country, two systems frame- work and aspirations of the Hong Kong people," Pompeo said. Any veto by the president can be over- ridden by two-thirds votes in both the Senate and the House. e legislation will automatically become law on Dec. 3 if Trump opts to do nothing. At his briefing, Pompeo took aim at China's human rights record in its west- ern region of Xinjiang, saying that re- cently leaked documents confirmed it was committing "very significant" abus- es against Uighur Muslims and other minority groups in mass detention there. "We're in the final throes of a very important deal, I guess you could say one of the most important deals in trade ever. It's going very well but at the same time we want to see it go well in Hong Kong"