Trump: China meddling in US midterms against my administration

President Trump said Wednesday his tough stance on trade is causing China to attempt to interfere in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections against his administration, in a speech before the United Nations Security Council.

“Regrettably, we’ve found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November, against my administration,” he said. “They do not want me — or us — to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade. And we are winning on trade.”

A Chinese official called the accusations “unwarranted,” and insisted it did not and will not interfere “in any country’s domestic affairs.”

In a follow-up on Twitter, Trump claimed China was "placing propaganda ads" in newspapers.

Trump also slammed China during his address before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, calling the country out specifically for its trade practices and “market distortions,” as he deemed the trade imbalance between the pair of economic powerhouses unacceptable.

He also cited it as a country that was admitted to the World Trade Organization despite violating “every single principle on which the organization is based,” including forcing technology transfers and stealing intellectual property.

“Those days are over, we will no longer tolerate such abuse,” Trump said. “We will not allow our workers to be victimized.”

The Trump administration implemented another round of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports on Monday, while Beijing implemented countermeasures on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.

Chinese officials consequently canceled upcoming trade talks between the two countries, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The Beijing government also accused the president this week of using bullying tactics to bend others into submission.