Mariana Bazo/Reuters
Chinese state media on Saturday cautioned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump against backtracking on free trade deals. “Turning his trade-bashing campaign talks into actual policies could bash any hope that the Asia-Pacific will finally have its much-wanted free trade deal,” the official Xinhua news agency said Saturday, according to Reuters. “Worse, it could drag his country and the wider world into deeper economic distress,” said the news agency, which is widely considered a government mouthpiece. “The billionaire-turned-politician needs to prove that derailing the global economy has not been one of the reasons why he ran for U.S. president,” Xinhua’s message for Trump said. Trump spent much of his campaign lashing out at China, accusing the country of manipulating its currency and at one point claiming it was “raping” the U.S. He repeatedly told voters that one of his priorities as president would be cutting off international trade deals with the country. After Trump’s presidential win, China’s Xi was quick to tell him that cooperation would be the only choice between the U.S. and China, warning him against isolationism and protectionism.