Donald Trump Calls China’s Trade Practice the ‘Greatest Theft in the World’

The Republican front-runner is standing by his controversial comments.

ByABC News
May 2, 2016, 9:41 AM

— FORT WAYNE, IN -- As Indiana's primary nears, Donald Trump is under fire, yet again, for another round of controversial comments. Over the weekend, Trump denounced China’s trade practices as "rape."

"We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country and that’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world,” the Republican front-runner told supporters at a campaign rally.

Trump has long accused the country of manipulating its currency to make its exports more competitive globally.

Rather than backpedaling from his disputatious statement, Trump, speaking on CNN, doubled down.

“Well, I think that, you know, I haven't heard anything negative, really recently. Frankly, as far as China's concerned, everyone knows that's true, and it gets the point across,” he said.

This is not the first time Trump has made this comparison. Back in 2011, Trump decried China's currency policies to employees who worked at a defense contractor in New Hampshire.

“China is raping this country,” Trump told employees at Wilcox Industries, a company that manufactures tactical equipment for U.S. military forces.