George Soros praises Trump's China policy but urges hard line on Huawei – Washington Examiner, Washingtonexaminer.com

Liberal donor George Soros praised President Trump’s policy on China Tuesday and warned against backtracking on it by granting Beijing concessions relating to the telecom company Huawei. Soros urged lawmakers to prevent Trump from using Huawei as a bargaining chip in upcoming trade negotiations.

“The greatest – and perhaps only – foreign policy accomplishment of the Trump administration has been the development of a coherent and genuinely bipartisan policy toward [President] Xi Jinping’s China,” Soros said inan op-ed published Tuesdayin theWall Street Journal, which also commended the administration for listing Huawei as a national-security threat.

He noted that the Trump administration has nevertheless allowed U.S. companies to continue to do business with some Chinese government-affiliated companies. “If he gives Huawei a similar break, removing it from the entity list as part of a trade deal, the company could consolidate its leading position in the 5G market,” he warned. Soros urged lawmakers to back an amendment by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin to prohibit removing Huawei from the entities list without the OK from Congress.

“It’s hard to know exactly what’s motivating Mr. Trump, but he appears desperate for a deal with President Xi to bolster the US stock market and economy to improve his chances at re-election – putting his electoral interests ahead of America’s interests, “Soros said.

Soros is a billionaire investor and the founder of the Open Society Institute. He has lavishly donated to liberal institutions and causes. Hewas convictedof insider trading in France in 2002.