Washington, May 2 (IANS): Republican front-runner Donald Trump compared the US's trade deficit with China, which he regularly laments and vows to tackle as president, to rape.

"We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing," Trump said during his second rally on Sunday in Fort Wayne, Indiana, referring to China's high number of
exports relative to the US.

Trump has repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency to make its exports more competitive on the global market and has claimed that China is "killing" the US on trade, CNN reported.

Sunday marks the first time this campaign that Trump has used the term "rape" to refer to what he views as China's dominance in trade with the US.

"We're going to turn it around. And we have the cards, don't forget it. We're like the piggy bank that's being robbed. We have the cards. We have a lot of power with China," Trump said before referring to China's relationship with the US as rape.

Trump added that he is not "angry at China", but with US leaders whom he accused of being "grossly incompetent".

Trump previously claimed in 2011 that "China is raping this country" as he toured a defense manufacturer in New Hampshire.

Trump's use of the analogy comes as the business mogul is currently under fire for remarks he made about Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton that critics are calling sexist.