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US President Donald Trump is reorienting American policy toward building up the domestic economy in order to compete with China, an American writer and academic says.

James Petras, a retired professor who has published on political issues with particular focus on Latin America, the Middle East and imperialism, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Tuesday.

“Trump has shifted US priorities from engaging in wars particularly in the Middle East, Afghanistan and perhaps elsewhere, that he is concerned about putting US federal funds in domestic programs, his immigration programs and also aware that the wars were going in the wrong direction as far as he was concerned,” Professor Petras said.

Last week, Trump declared victory against Daesh terrorists in Syria and announced to pull out American troops from the country, saying that US troops cannot stay in Syria “forever.”

Several senators on both sides of the aisle have accused Trump of making a hasty decision, with one administration official saying “the President's decision-by-tweet will recklessly put American and allied lives in danger around the world.”

But several others, like Republican Senator Rand Paul and former congressman Dr. Ron Paul, have defended Trump's decision to withdraw the American troops in Syria, with Dr. Paul saying that the United States needs to “have a clean cut” with military involvement in the Middle East.

On Monday, Trump said that Saudi Arabia, not the United States, will provide funds to help rebuild Syria, destroyed mostly by American and Saudi sponsored terrorists.

PressTV-Trump: Saudis will pay to rebuild Syria

Trump has said that Saudi Arabia, not the United States, will provide funds to help rebuild Syria, destroyed mostly by American and Saudi sponsored terrorists.

Petras told Press TV that Trump “is much more interested in building up his defense sales to Turkey than continuing to fund the Kurds.”

“So I think there is a major conflict going on the in the United States today between Trump’s domestic focus and his overseas wars especially the long-term wars like in Afghanistan which has gone on for 17 years, in Syria [which has gone on] for seven years which he says is waste of money, time, lives and his effort now is to reorient US policy toward building up the domestic economy that ties him with his preoccupation with competition with China. His priority is not in supporting the Middle East but competing with China,” he noted.