Top story: Trump gushes for ‘King of China’ Xi Jinping

Hello – it’s Warren Murray separating the wheat from the chaff for you today.

Donald Trump has heaped fawning praise on Xi Jinping, sending congratulations for his “extraordinary elevation” after the Chinese president was given exalted status by the Communist party this week.

Trump will arrive in Beijing on 8 November for a three-day visit and it is pretty obvious he is seeking to curry favour with Xi – most of all, the US president needs his help in dealing with North Korea. Trump continued his charm offensive in an interview with Fox Business Network: “Some people might call him the King of China,” he said of Xi.

Experts say Trump’s words are unlikely to ingratiate him with the Chinese leadership. “He’s a two-faced man … Beijing might be happy but they know very well in their hearts [what Trump is like],” said Shi Yinhong, a Renmin University international relations expert. Trump, though, says we’ve got him all wrong.

There is further scrutiny, meanwhile, of team Trump’s election tactics. His campaign’s data-mining contractor Cambridge Analytica tried to get its hands on Hillary Clinton’s missing emails by going to WikiLeaks, according to a report. Julian Assange has confirmed an approach was made and rejected – he did not say what the request concerned. It would be the closest known connection between Trump’s campaign and Assange, and is reportedly being looked at by the congressional Trump-Russia investigation.

Continue here to the full article on the Guardian  ||  October 26,  2017   |||