Rethinking U.S.-China and Taiwan Relationships

China-US-FlagsBy Bill Gertz

“I fully understand the One China policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Trump said on Fox News.

China’s Foreign Ministry reacted with a relatively mild statement on the comments.

“Adherence to the One China principle serves as the political foundation for the development of China-US ties,” said Gen Shuang. “If this foundation is wobbled and weakened, then there is no possibility for the two countries to grow their relations in a sound and steady way and cooperate on key areas.”

By contrast, the nationalist and Communist Party-affiliated Global Times newspaper called on the mainland to consider the use of military force against Taiwan.

“Beijing should start from severely punishing Taiwan independence forces, exploring the possibility of disciplining those forces through non-peaceful means and make the use of military force an actual option to realize reunification,” the newspaper stated in an editorial.

Trump has vowed to adopt more nationalist US foreign and economic policies based on his support from Americans who rejected the cosmopolitan and globalist policies of current US President Barack Obama.

And during the presidential campaign Trump vowed to order the US Treasury Department to declare China a currency manipulator, a move that likely will trigger a trade conflict with a major American trading partner.

In October, Treasury announced it would not make the declaration of currency manipulation, although China is on a list of states being monitoring for unscrupulous currency activities. Currency manipulation involves skewing exchange rates against the US dollar to produce unfair trade advantages.

“We’re being hurt very badly by devaluation, with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don’t tax them,” Trump said. >>> Continue Reading at Asia Times

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