Trump takes China head-on at UN, says he won't accept a bad trade deal

United States President Donald Trump brought his nationalistic rhetoric to the United Nations, declaring in his address to world leaders that the future does not belong to globalists but patriots.

"Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first," Trump said at the 74th General Assembly of the UN in New York on Tuesday, Efe news reported.

"The future does not belong to globalists, the future belongs to patriots, the future belongs to sovereign and independent nations, who protect their citizens, respect their neighbours, and honour the differences that make each country special and unique."

The president spoke about his country's trade relations with China and said the US had "lost 60,000 factories after China entered the WTO".

He said other countries were also affected and that the WTO needed "drastic change".

Trump added: "To confront these unfair practices, I placed massive tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese-made goods."

He said supply chains were now returning to America and other countries as a result of his administration's measures.

Trump said he hoped an agreement that was mutually beneficial for the US and China could be reached, but added: "I will not accept a bad deal for the American people."

"We are all counting on President Xi as a great leader," the president said.

"The United States does not seek conflict with any other nation, we desire peace, cooperation and mutual gain with all."

"I will never fail to defend America's interests," he added.

The president also turned his attention to North Korea, saying his country had "pursued bold diplomacy" and told its leader Kim Jong-un that it needed to denuclearize.

"America's goal is lasting, America's goal is harmony, and America's goal is not to go with these endless wars, wars that never end," Trump said.

He also spoke about migration, saying the policies of open border activists were "cruel and evil" and put the lives of "innocent men, women and children" at risk.

He said every country present at the event had the "absolute right" to protect their borders.

"Today, we must resolve to work together to end human smuggling and human trafficking, and put these criminal networks out of business for good," he added.

Trump said the US was working with Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama to "uphold the integrity of borders".

He thanked Mexico's President Andres Manuel López Obrador for his cooperation on the matter and for "putting 27,000 troops on our southern border".