Another day, another Trump travel directive: The Taiwan travel bill angers China

By Anuraag Srivastava

Donald Trump has signed a bill that aims to deepen Amerca’s ties with Taiwan. The Taiwan Travel Act aims to increase visits between business delegates as well as state officials of both the US and Taiwan at all levels. Donald Trump ignored multiple warnings China issued to both countries in going ahead with the move. This comes against the backdrop of the US increase in tariffs for steel imports as well as Trump’s call for China to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries. Taiwan has welcomed the legislation and has acknowledged that the US is a “solid ally” and that it will substantively enhance the relationship between the US and Taiwan.

China’s reaction

China is unhappy with the legislation. China called the move a violation of the ‘One China Policy’ that the relationship between the US and China is based on as established in the US-PRC joint communique of 1982. The One China Policy refers to China’s insistence that Taiwan is a province of China and hence should not be acknowledged as a sovereign nation. Hence, the increased American engagement with Taiwan has not gone down well with mainland China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said, “[The] one-China principle is the political foundation of the China-US relationship. We urge the US side to adhere to the one-China policy and honour the commitments it made in the three joint communiqués, stop pursuing any official ties with Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any substantive way. It must handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously so as to avoid causing any major disruption or damage to the China-US relations.”

China believes that moves made by the US to support Taiwan could strengthen Taiwan’s interest in declaring itself independent rather than an alternative Chinese regime, which would force mainland China to use its Anti-Secession law that allows it to use force to stop Taiwan from seceding. This is especially concerning now as the current ruling party of Taiwan supports independence even though it has maintained the official status quo until now.

Implications for the future

This is not the first time that the US has actively pursued its relationship with Taiwan. Several US administrations have signed agreements with Taiwan that have infuriated China. The Obama administration sold a substantial number of weapons to Taiwan, greater than all its predecessor administrations combined. The tensions over Taiwan escalated recently when Donald Trump said that the One China Policy is “negotiable”. This also prompted China to issue warnings to the US.

With this move as well the recent imposition of tariffs, the US-China relationship has been put in a precarious situation. On one hand are the North Korea negotiations that involve the US seeking China’s support for a successful resolution, while on the other hand, the US has been sending inflammatory signals by irritating China when it comes to Taiwan and trade. The mixed signals that the US is sending has the potential to derail all that has been achieved in recent months with China regarding the situation in North Korea. All that the US needs to do is to ensure that, at such a sensitive time, Asian stability is not compromised by belligerent posturing.