US needs stronger sanctions on China: Gordon Chang

Author of ‘Nuclear Showdown’, Gordon Chang said Wednesday that President Donald Trump should increase the cost of sanctions on China in order to send a message to the Chinese the United States is serious about its own security.

“Bank of China, one of China’s big four banks, not a small fry was also engaged in money laundering for the North Koreans, and Trump could impose some costs on that,” said Chang.

Chang believes that Trump needs to privately and publicly question China on why the North Koreans have access to Chinese equipment, after launching a missile from a Chinese launcher.

“Going forward every solution is going to cost us,” Chang said referencing the fact that China is at times the second largest foreign owner of the United States’ debt and one of the largest exporters to the U.S.

Though, Chang believes it will cost the Chinese more, “they’ve got an economy geared to selling things to us, we don’t have an economy geared to selling to them.”

Chang believes the U.S. hasn’t used its leverage, saying that we have an economy twice the size of China’s. He believes there will be a trade war with China and said, “the Chinese have been engaging in increasingly predatory practices against American companies.”

Chang also believes the U.S. has a responsibility to try these tactics first because he said, “war with North Korea would be horrific.”