Speaking on a wide range of national security topics Sunday morning, incoming National Security Adviser John Bolton said President Donald Trump's tariffs on China amid trade negotiations and challenges on their "intellectual theft" is "a little shock therapy" to "get their attention."
"For far too long, China has taken advantage of its place in the World Trade Organization," Bolton told "The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y.
"The Chinese have stolen intellectual property, patent information, copyrights, trademarks, business secrets. They take the information, and they don't honor the patents or the copyrights, as it might be. They just copy it and build their own. Really, it's theft. There's no other description for it. . . .
"The president is saying, 'Hey, look, you made these commitments to honor intellectual property protection, or not to discriminate against foreign investment by subsidizing your domestic companies . . . I am going to insist you live by the agreement you made.'
"The United States lives by these agreements, I can tell you. . . . All we're asking for here is for the Chinese to do the same. So, I think this could be a little shock therapy. Get their attention and hopefully it will have a good impact."
With regard to the upcoming denuclearization talks with North Korea, which Bolton said he anticipates being a part of in May, the United States needs to be wary of Kim Jong Un's long-employed attempts "to slow-roll negotiations" as it readies its nuclear ballistic missiles to be capable of striking the U.S.
"I think they're very worried that they've got a different president here in the White House than Barack Obama," Bolton told host John Catsimatidis. "They're worried about the pressure that the president has already put on."
As for this week's drama of President Trump not obeying the advice of staff to "not congratulate" Vladimir Putin on his recent election victory, Bolton backed the president's will to proceed as he sees fit, amid a more dangerous reality of leaks coming from his own administration.
"What people really should be concerned about is the leak of the talking points that the president's staff gave to him," Bolton contended. "Just because the staff writes something that they think you ought to say, doesn't mean that's what the president himself has to say.
"Those kinds of leaks do enormous damage ... and it undermines confidence within the government.
"It's just unacceptable that people can do that and get away with it."
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