Serious Germany friend 1B1R China and unfread USA, 李克强 & Ang Moh Trump BOTH in Berlin

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/30/trump...or-the-us.html

Trump fires back at Merkel, says Germany is 'very bad' for the US

Trump responds to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's criticism.
He says Germany's large trade surplus with the U.S. and its low contributions to NATO are "very bad."

Silvia Amaro | @Silvia_Amaro
Tuesday, 30 May 2017 | 7:09 AM ETCNBC.com
Trump fires back at Merkel, says Germany is 'very bad' for the US
Trump fires back at Merkel, says Germany is 'very bad' for the US
Tuesday, 30 May 2017 | 9:05 AM ET | 00:45

President Donald Trump has criticized Germany once again for its large trade surplus with the U.S. and its low contributions to NATO, saying this attitude is "very bad" for the United States.

We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change

The comments made on Twitter take current tensions in U.S.-German relations a notch higher.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said at an election rally on Sunday that Germany and the European Union can no longer rely on the United States.

"The times in which we could completely depend on others are, to a certain extent, over," she told the rally in Munich.

"I've experienced that in the last few days. We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands," she said. Her comments came as she steps up her campaign in the September federal election.

The image of friendly relations between Germany and the U.S. seems distant since Trump took office. His administration has previously said that Germany's trade surplus is a result of the country's manipulation of the euro.

Germany fought back arguing that it doesn't have powers to manipulate the euro and the only reason consumers opt for its products is because they are more competitive.

Data released last February by the German Federal Statistics Office showed that Germany's trade surplus rose to 252.9 billion euros ($270.05 billion) in 2016, surpassing the previous high of 244.3 billion euros in 2015. If it were a single trade partner, Germany would be the fifth largest in total trade flows with the U.S. But it runs the third largest trade surplus, after China and Japan.

Meanwhile, contributions to the defense alliance NATO has emerged as another problem between Berlin and Washington. Trump has repeatedly asked NATO allies to step up their contributions. At the moment, only 5 of the 28 members fulfill the target of paying at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense.

According to NATO data, Germany is currently spending 1.2 percent of its GDP on NATO. The U.S. spends 3.6 percent.

At a summit last week, Germany, like other NATO members, vowed to present an action plan on how it will increase defense spending. At the time, Trump told his allies they were being unfair toward U.S. taxpayers.

—Additional reporting by CNBC's John W. Schoen.

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WATCH: Trump may be seriously damaging the U.S. relationship with Germany, analysts say







https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g...-idUSKBN18S4CC


Germany and China vow to deepen ties amid Trump concerns


Germany and China vowed on Thursday to expand their partnership and pledged to continue fighting climate change, sending a signal to Washington hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announces if he will quit a global climate deal.

Berlin was the first stop in Europe for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, amid growing concern in Germany over some of Trump's policies, especially on climate change and protectionism. He was due to head later for Brussels.

"China has become a more important and strategic partner," Merkel said at a news conference with Li, pointing to political, economic, social and cultural ties.

"We are living in times of global uncertainty and see our responsibility to expand our partnership in all the different areas and to push for a world order based on law," she said.

The two held wide-ranging talks on issues from trade, civil rights, the North Korea crisis and climate change and a multitude of business deals were signed.

"We are both ready to contribute to stability in the world,"

Li said.

As the world awaits Trump's decision on climate change after he denounced the Paris pact in his 2016 presidential campaign, Li said China was committed to tackling the issue, both via the Paris Agreement and by setting national targets.

"China will stand by its responsibilities on climate change," he told reporters in Berlin.

European and Canadian officials have warned Trump that the U.S. risks ceding global leadership on combating climate change to China, if it withdraws from the Paris accord.

Merkel vented her frustration with Trump on Sunday after what she described as unsatisfactory talks of G7 leaders, saying Germany and Europe could no longer totally rely on traditional allies. Since then she has hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Li.

ECONOMIC GIANTS

Merkel said she wanted quick progress on an EU-China investment deal and that this would be a precondition to any free trade talks, a move Li said would be timely.

With bilateral trade of 170 billion euros last year, China was Germany's most important trading partner, said Merkel.

"These are impressive figures and we both said we want to extend this," said Merkel, adding the signing of business agreements pointed to future cooperation in cars, aviation technology, recycling and artificial intelligence.

Among the deals signed was one between Daimler and joint venture partner BAIC Motor Corporation on upgrading a Mercedes-Benz factory in Beijing for electric cars.

Li said he believed they two had found a solution on the issue of Chinese quotas for electric cars after a lengthy discussion.

However, thorny issues remain between the two exporting nations, with Merkel saying she had pressed China to open up its market more to German firms who want a level playing field.

"We need fair market access ... and it's very important to protect intellectual property and ensure trade and business secrets are kept and of course in times of cyber possibilities that's not always easy," said Merkel at a business event later.

Merkel also tackled civil rights, saying she and Li had resolved the issue of German political foundations working in China which she said were crucial for a stronger civil society.

"We believe our political foundations make an important contribution and I am pleased that all our bureaus in China can be registered and hope they can resume work," she said.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Emma Thomasson, Andreas Rinke and Michelle Martin; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Tom Heneghan)





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