/CHINA: An Axios report notes that "in an Oval...>

US: /CHINA: An Axios report notes that "in an Oval Office interview on Friday

afternoon, President Trump told me that he held off on imposing sanctions

against Chinese officials involved with the Xinjiang mass detention camps

because doing so would have interfered with his trade deal with Beijing. Asked

why he hadn't yet enacted sanctions against Chinese Communist Party officials or

entities tied to the camps where the Chinese government detains Uighurs and

other Muslim minorities, Trump replied, "Well, we were in the middle of a major

trade deal." "And I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of

purchases. And by the way, they're buying a lot, you probably have seen." Trump

continued: "And when you're in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a

sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on - we've done a lot. I put

tariffs on China, which are far worse than any sanction you can think of.""