CHINA/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SANCTIONS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday [12-11-18] he would intervene with the U.S. Justice Department in the case against a Chinese telecommunications executive if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing…Trump expressed optimism that he could strike a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two countries struggle to resolve a dispute that has contributed to recent U.S. stock market declines and raised questions about whether economic turmoil could beset the president in the new year. At the request of U.S. authorities, Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested earlier this month in Vancouver on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. The arrest came the same day Trump and Xi declared a 90-day truce in their trade war during summit talks in Buenos Aires.”
–Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton, “Trump says would intervene in arrest of Chinese executive,” Reuters, December 11, 2018 4:33 pm