US President Donald Trump on Thursday reaffirmed Washington’s “one China” policy in his first conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), an apparent effort to ease tensions after angering Beijing by questioning a major plank of Sino-US relations.
During a telephone call with China’s leader, the US president agreed to “honor” a position that effectively acknowledges that Taiwan is not separate from China.
“President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our ‘one China’ policy,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the two leaders had “extended invitations to meet in their respective countries.”
Photo: EPA
The White House called the telephone discussion — which came on the eve of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — “extremely cordial,” saying the leaders “look forward to further talks with very successful outcomes.”
Xi, has led the Chinese Communist Party-ruled country since 2012, welcomed Trump’s gesture.
“Xi Jinping appreciates Trump’s emphasis on the American government’s commitment to the ‘one China’ policy and pointed out that the ‘one China’ principle is the political foundation of US-China relations,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Trump’s insurgent campaign for the White House included frequently lashing out at China, which he accused of currency manipulation and stealing US jobs.
He raised eyebrows in the wake of his election victory with a protocol-busting telephone conversation with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
He later threw doubt on the “one China” policy, suggesting that it was up for negotiation and could form part of talks on trade, drawing rebukes from official Chinese media.
Ashley Townshend, an expert on US-China relations at the University of Sydney, said Trump’s apparent capitulation was an indication of the moderating influence of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
“Everyone will be surprised at the speed with which Trump has backed down on this issue,” Townshend added.
The change was unlikely to be conciliatory, but could be read as a sign of pragmatism in the new administration’s approach to its powerful adversary, he said.
“There was a real risk prior to this clarification that the two sides would be unable to even find a way to speak,” Townshend said. “This removes an obstacle to relations, but it doesn’t advance them in any meaningful way.”
Trump’s suggestion that he could restore relations with Taipei — which Beijing views as a nonstarter — had threatened to chill ties with the Asian giant.
Beijing had been prepared to give Trump-the-candidate a pass, China-based Fudan University Center for American Studies director Wu Xinbo (吳新保) said.
“When Trump tweeted a few things about the ‘one China’ policy previously, it was prior to his inauguration, so we can consider those his personal opinion,” Wu said.
“Now that he is in office, he represents the government’s views and, as such, he must emphasize the continuity of policies, such as the Taiwan issue and the ‘one China’ issue,” he added.
Xu Guoqi (徐國琦), an expert in Sino-US relations at the University of Hong Kong, said Thursday’s call showed that the US president had “come to his senses” about a policy that has underpinned ties since former US president Richard Nixon’s time in the Oval Office.
“Without honoring the ‘one China’ policy, the relationship only has one way to go: down to hell,” Xu said, adding that “now the two sides can assume business as usual. They are back to square one.”
A senior European diplomat told reporters he hoped that the call indicated an end to Trump’s “incoherent signals” on China.
“Maybe the phone call marks the beginning of a more rational and consistent policy,” he said.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
RSS