The Trump administration has hardened its approach to China, blacklisting a small Chinese bank over dealings with North Korea while approving more than a billion dollars in military sales to Taiwan.

The twin moves, both expected to infuriate Beijing, came just days after President Donald Trump appeared to lose faith in his strategy of enlisting Chinese help on North Korea, arguing in a cryptic tweet that it had “not worked out.” Still, the US insisted it still wanted to work with China, North Korea's biggest trading partner, to combat the nuclear threat.

“We are in no way targeting China with these actions,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at the White House, referring to sanctions the US slapped on the Bank of Dandong, accused of illicit dealings with the North.

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It was unlikely China would see it that way, especially given the one-two punch with the sales to Taiwan, the self-governing territory that Beijing considers to be part of China. And Mr Trump has a history of linking the Taiwan conflict to his broader hopes for cooperation with China.

Shortly after being elected president, Trump stunned Beijing when he broke with decades of US policy by accepting a phone call from Taiwan's president. Two months later, after being sworn in, Trump reversed course and told Chinese President Xi Jinping he would honour the “One China” policy that recognises only Beijing, clearing the way for him to seek Xi's help on North Korea. He later held a summit with Mr Xi at one of his estates.

However, China's ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai said: “And all these actions — sanctions against Chinese companies and especially arms sales to Taiwan — will certainly undermine the mutual confidence between the two sides and runs counter to the spirit of the Mar-a-Lago summit.”

Shape Created with Sketch. Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons 1/33 Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists 2/33 Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea 3/33 Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un 4/33 Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe 5/33 Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt 6/33 The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group 7/33 Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals 8/33 Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership 9/33 Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy 10/33 Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere 11/33 The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state 12/33 Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states 13/33 One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party 14/33 Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows 15/33 A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House 16/33 Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office 17/33 The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism 18/33 The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President 19/33 Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed 20/33 Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country 21/33 Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally 22/33 Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia 23/33 North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power 24/33 Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK 25/33 When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" 26/33 A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House 27/33 Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban 28/33 Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests 29/33 Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President 30/33 British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President 31/33 One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" 32/33 British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's 33/33 Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad 1/33 Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists 2/33 Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea 3/33 Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un 4/33 Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe 5/33 Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt 6/33 The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group 7/33 Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals 8/33 Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership 9/33 Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy 10/33 Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere 11/33 The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state 12/33 Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states 13/33 One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party 14/33 Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows 15/33 A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House 16/33 Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office 17/33 The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism 18/33 The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President 19/33 Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed 20/33 Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country 21/33 Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally 22/33 Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia 23/33 North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power 24/33 Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK 25/33 When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" 26/33 A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House 27/33 Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban 28/33 Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests 29/33 Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President 30/33 British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President 31/33 One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" 32/33 British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's 33/33 Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

The dual announcements came as Mr Trump was opening his first visit with South Korea's new leader, President Moon Jae-in, who has long advocated outreach to North Korea. Mr Moon's predecessor had staunchly backed Mr Trump's harder line.

Mr Trump has also been leaning on Mr Xi to help stop the North's development of nuclear weapons before they can threaten the U.S. homeland, with a focus on getting China to fully enforce international sanctions intended to starve Pyongyang of revenue. But last week, Trump tweeted that he appreciated Xi's efforts to help with North Korea but said it hadn't been successful.

“At least I know China tried!” Mr Trump wrote.

The military sales, worth a total of about $1.4 billion, are the first such deal with Taiwan since Mr Trump took office. A grouping of seven transactions, they include technical support for early warning radar, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and components for SM-2 missiles, the US said. They consist mostly of upgrades to convert existing systems from analog to digital.

The administration said the approvals did not violate the Taiwan Relations Act that governs US contacts with the island, and, indeed, the US is legally obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan for its self-defence. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said it illustrated US support “for Taiwan's ability to maintain a sufficient self-defence policy.”

“There's no change, I should point out, to our One-China policy,” Ms Nauert said.

Under the policy, the US recognises Beijing as the sole government of China but maintains strong unofficial ties with Taiwan and remains the island's main supplier of defence equipment.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department proposed to sever the Bank of Dandong entirely from the US financial system, pending a 60-day review. The sanctions bar Americans from doing business with the bank, which is based in a northeastern Chinese city on the North Korean border that serves as a gateway for trade with the isolated nation.

Mr Mnuchin said the bank had facilitated millions of dollars of transactions for companies involved in North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes.

The US also slapped sanctions on Dalian Global Unity Shipping Co. and on two Chinese people that it said facilitated illegal activities by North Korea. The Treasury Department accused the shipping company of transporting 700,000 tons of freight annually, including coal and steel products, between China and North Korea.

Anthony Ruggiero, a sanctions expert and former Treasury Department official, described it as a small Chinese bank “sitting at the heart” of trade between North Korea and China.

“This is a strong message to Chinese leaders that the Trump administration will act against North Korea's sanctions evasion in China,” said Mr Ruggiero, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The military sales will go forward unless Congress formally objects in the next 30 days. Legislators have generally been strongly supportive of such sales, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Republican Ed Royce, called it “long overdue.”

The last US arms sales to Taiwan, worth $1.8 billion, were announced in December 2015. They included two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and Stinger surface-to-air missiles.

China objected strongly to that sale, but it did not notably set back US-China relations and military ties, as has happened after past arms sales to Taiwan. However, relations across the Taiwan Strait have nonetheless deteriorated in recent years.

Associated Press

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