Donald Trump says China ‘ripped us off for years’, hints at 2024 run for presidency

In return to spotlight at conservative conference, former president says firms leaving US to create jobs in China should be ‘tariffed, fined and punished’

Trump refers to ‘China virus’ and slams his successor Joe Biden for rejoining WHO, which he labels ‘puppets for China’

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Donald Trump told a conservative conference that the Biden administration’s decision to rejoin the WHO was a “horrendous surrender”. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 11:00am, 1 Mar 2021Updated: 3:06am, 2 Mar 2021

Former US president Donald Trump lashed out at China on his return to the national political stage on Sunday, calling it a “tremendous economic threat” to the United States and criticising the Biden administration for rejoining the World Health Organization.

He also suggested, without evidence, that President Joe Biden would give concessions to the Chinese government because of his personal interests.

“We believe in standing up to China, shutting down outsourcing, bringing back our factories and supply chains, and ensuring that America, not China, dominates the future of the world,” Trump said, delivering the closing address of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida.

“Companies that leave America to create jobs in China and other countries that have ripped us off for years should not be rewarded. They should be tariffed, fined and punished. They should not be rewarded. That’s what the Biden administration is doing.”

The former president did not elaborate, or offer any evidence to support the accusation, although he recycled a conspiracy theory that Biden was beholden to Beijing as a consequence of his son’s former business ventures in China.