Asian leaders wishing for a cordial relationship with the U.S. president-elect may have to scrub from their minds some of Donald Trump's comments about the region, because they've rarely been positive.
For those who need reminding, here is a selection of Trump's quotes on Asia. The easily offended should avert their eyes now.
On China
"They suck the blood out of us and we owe them money," Trump told CNBC in a September interview, in which he added that the Chinese were "great magicians" who had stolen U.S. intellectual property. Instead, as a big buyer of Chinese imports, the U.S. should use its leverage to force a more mutually beneficial relationship, Trump added.
"We should get China to fix that problem. We should use our economic power. Because without us, China would be in serious trouble," he said.
In the same month, Trump told the Economic Club of New York that China was "a currency manipulator" of "grand master level" and that tariffs should be applied because of the "unfair advantage."
This followed an August interview with CNBC, in which he said China was America's "biggest abuser."
"We're like their whipping post, the United States. We have people who don't understand the system. We have people that don't get it. We are being ripped by many countries, China being the No. 1 abuser. They do it better than anybody else," he said.
"I have very big relationships with China, but the fact is China is the great abuser of the United States economically and we do nothing about it, and it would be very easy to stop."
"China goes down to 7 percent [growth], and then what they do is devalue their currency and they take more of our business and they start to go up again," he added.
These comments were toned down from ones he made at a rally in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
"We can't continue to allow China to rape our country," he told the crowd, referring to trade. "That's what they're doing. It's the greatest theft in the history of the world."
On India
Trump made his first comments on India in January. Speaking to CNN, he said, "India is doing great. Nobody talks about it. And I have big jobs going up in India. But India is doing great."
At an event sponsored by the Republican Hindu Coalition, Trump repeated this sentiment, saying that the U.S. and India would be "best friends" if he were to be elected. "I am a big fan of Hindu, and I am big fan of India," the New York Times reported Trump saying, "Big, big fan."
Trump has also mentioned enhancing intelligence sharing between the two nations to combat Muslim extremism.
On Japan
In August, Trump indicated he didn't believe Japan was a true ally of the U.S., while delivering a broader attack at a campaign event in Iowa on countries he said did not make sufficient financial contributions to NATO.
"You know we have a treaty with Japan, where if Japan is attacked, we have to use the full force and might of the United States," Trump said, according to a report in Britain's The Telegraph. "If we're attacked, Japan doesn't have to do anything. They can sit home and watch Sony television."
He said that as president, he could "walk away" from the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, according to the report.
"It could be that Japan will have to defend itself against North Korea," he said.
On South Korea
Trump criticisms of South Korea while on the campaign trail were, like those of Japan, about defense.
MSNBC reported in May that the GOP candidate railed against the country in May for the cost to the U.S. of having a defense force on its soil.
"They're paying us a tiny fraction of what it's costing. I'd love to continue to defend Japan, I'd love to continue to defend South Korea - we have 28,000 soldiers on the line between North and South Korea right now. It's costing us a fortune, which we don't have, we're a debtor nation," he told the "Morning Joe" show.
"I'd like them to pay up. They have a lot of money, both of those nations, we take in Japan's cars by the millions."
On North Korea
Trump has appeared more conciliatory toward the isolated state than his White House predecessor, telling Reuters in June that he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about the country's nuclear weapons. In return, A column by the DPRK Today outlet called Trump a "prescient presidential candidate" and a "wise politician."
But earlier in the year, Trump made it clear he didn't intend to turn his back on Kim, should they ever meet.
"Any young guy who can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably wants the position - this is not somebody to be underestimating," he told CBS in February.
On Singapore
Singapore escaped Trump's attention until relatively late in his campaign. But at a campaign rally in Florida on Nov. 6, multiple reports said the Republican candidate told the crowd that "Baxter Health Care Corporation laid off 199 workers and moved their jobs to Singapore," as part of a wider speech on "jobs theft" by Asian countries.
