Obama blames Trump for China's confrontational moves against the US

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Former US President Barack Obama has attributed China's growing aggressive conduct to his successor, Donald Trump. In a recent statement, Obama stated that Trump's policies and approach towards China had exacerbated tensions, leading to China's more confrontational behavior.

During a recent paid speaking engagement in Sydney as part of a series of events, former US President Barack Obama discussed foreign policy, with the speaking engagement netting the former president a potential cool $1 million.

Speaking to former Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, Obama said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has a “forceful and confident” demeanor, according to reporting by Daily Mail Australia and NCA Newswire.

Obama claimed China's behavior began to shift following the end of the Obama administration in 2017, coinciding with the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

“With my successor coming in, I think he saw an opportunity because the U.S. president didn’t seem to care that much about a rules-based international system,” Obama said of Xi.

“And so as a consequence, I think China’s attitude as well, we can take advantage of what appears to be a vacuum internationally on a lot of these issues,” Obama added.

Throughout Trump's tenure in the White House, Trump engaged in a trade war with China, even as he sought to negotiate a deal between the two nations. As part of his efforts, Trump imposed significant tariffs on Chinese imports, arguing that these measures were necessary to address a trade imbalance that he believed disadvantaged the US.

“They took advantage of us for many, many years,” Trump told Fox News host Steve Hilton in 2019.

“And I blame us, I don’t blame them. I don’t blame President Xi. I blame all of our presidents, and not just President Obama. You go back a long way. You look at President Clinton, Bush — everybody. They allowed this to happen, they created a monster. We rebuilt China because they get so much money.”