Donald Trump: Taiwan should pay us to protect them from China's military

Taiwan will have to pay for protection because the island offers nothing to the United States, US presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

"I know these people very well, I respect them very much. They took about 100% of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us to protect them," the Republican candidate said, adding: "We're just an insurance company. Taiwan gives us nothing".

Previously, in an interview on June 25, before becoming an official presidential candidate, the American politician said that China will not attack Taiwan because the chip production on this island is important to it.

Trump also called Chinese President Xi Jinping "a very good friend".

In the interview, he assured that if elected president, he would allow Jerome Powell, head of the Federal Reserve, effectively the US central bank, to serve out the remainder of his four-year term until 2026. Jerome Powell's term as Fed chairman expires in 2026, and his term on the board of governors expires in 2028.

Donald Trump also said the Fed should hold off on cutting interest rates until after the November election.

In the interview, he also said that he may cut the corporate tax rate to 15% (from the current 21%) and that he has no plans to ban the Chinese social media app TikTok.

He also indicated that China would be subject to new tariffs of 60-100% and a general tariff of 10% on imports from other countries because the world is not buying enough American goods.

In the interview, he also said that if he wins, Jamie Dimon, president and CEO of JPMorgan, will be appointed Treasury Secretary.