As Trump Tweets, China Quietly Weighs Options to Retaliate
- China to ‘strike back firmly’ if Trump challenges interests
- Latest spat occurred after China seized U.S. naval drone
Trump Tweets on Drone Seizure by China
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China’s leaders are biting their tongues as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump uses Twitter to rattle relations between the world’s biggest economies.
Trump lashed out at China over the weekend, saying it stole an underwater drone from the U.S. Navy in an “unprecedented act.” Beijing’s response was muted. The state-run China Daily’s English-language edition warned Monday that Trump’s inexperience in diplomacy might lead to confrontations between the two nations, while the Communist Party-affiliated Global Times mocked his demeanor as “lagging far behind the White House spokespersons.”