Trump has also criticized the Chinese military's island-building program in the South China Sea, and accused it of blocking U.S. imports through high taxes and manipulating its currency to the detriment of American exports. That would appear to indicate continued support for deploying the advanced Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-missile system in South Korea, despite Chinese and Russian objections. Trump appears to be a firm believer that North Korea could be reined-in if only its sole significant ally China would tighten the screws. Pakistan is a U.S. ally in the battle against Islamic extremism but is also close to U.S. rival in Asia, China. In its readout of that call, Pakistan said Trump described the country as "amazing" and expressed a desire to visit — something President Barack Obama did not do.

Source: New York Times January 16, 2017 06:13 UTC