UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday there was “plenty of evidence” of China trying to meddle in the upcoming US elections and that Beijing wanted him to lose because he had confronted China on trade issues.
Asked about his charge of Chinese election meddling in his remarks at the UN Security Council, Trump told reporters as he departed the United Nations that there was “plenty of evidence,” but did not offer specifics.
“They would like to see me not win because this is the first time ever that they’ve been confronted on trade,” Trump said. “And we are winning and we’re winning big and they can’t get involved with our elections.”
Chairing the council for the first time, Trump said in his remarks: “China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November. Against my administration.”
Trump made no reference to suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and provided no evidence for his allegation about China, which Beijing immediately rejected during the same meeting.
“We did not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs. We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China,” the Chinese government’s top diplomat Wang Yi told the council.
The United States and China are embroiled in a trade war, sparked by Trump’s accusations that China has long sought to steal U.S. intellectual property, limit access to its own market and unfairly subsidize state-owned companies.
A senior Trump administration official said China uses political, economic, commercial, military and information tools to influence US public opinion and promote the interests of the Chinese government and Communist Party.
US Vice President Mike Pence plans to make a speech next week detailing the allegations, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, saying the US government was working to declassify further information on the matter.
