Trump Warns Canada of China Deal; CCP Purges Top Leaders

Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. President Trump is warning that Canada is risking its economic future by cutting tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and could face steep U.S. tariffs in response. The dispute comes as China confirms a major purge of its top military leadership, raising new questions about instability inside the Chinese Communist Party and possible implications for Taiwan. NTD's Jack Bradley has the details. We have no intention of doing that with China or any other non-market economy. What we've done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is not pursuing a free trade agreement with China. That's after President Trump says that Canada could face a 100 percent U.S. tariff if it makes a deal with China. We can't let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the U.S. We're going to use the expression back to the future with respect to EVs. The criticism follows Carney's recent trip to Beijing where he signed multiple agreements on cutting tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 100 percent down to just over six percent on the first 49,000 cars. In return China lowered tariffs on Canada's canola oil. Trump said on social media that China is successfully and completely taking over the once great country of Canada. Several car makers in Canada are opposing Carney's deal with China saying EV tariff cuts threaten the auto industry. We've seen what happens when cheap Chinese vehicles enter western markets. Factories have closed, workers have lost their jobs. That's the risk this deal is creating. The federal government's decision to open the Canadian market to Chinese EVs is deeply concerning. Making that concession in this moment makes the entire Canadian auto sector on shakier ground. Experience in other parts of the world shows the core supply chain remains in China, supported by heavy state subsidies as Flavio said, very, very low wages and suspect labor conditions. At the same time China is facing a major military shakeup. Beijing says two of its top commanders are under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law. General Zhang Youxia, Xi Jinping's second in command and Liu Zhenli, the military's chief of staff, both were considered close allies of Xi, now purged. Since last year, dozens of senior officers, including Xi loyalists, have been removed. China's central military commission is now effectively down to two members from six, including Xi himself. And opposition factions within the CCP remain strong. But for Taiwan, the instability raises concern as fewer voices may be able to challenge risky decisions in Beijing. We will of course continue to closely monitor abnormal changes among the top levels of China's party, government and military leadership. Right now Taiwan is bracing for a possible military attack from China. Last month the Trump administration approved an 11 billion dollar arms sale, the largest ever to Taiwan. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News.