By Charlie Campbell / Beijing
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 9, 2016
Donald Trump suggested Sunday that the U.S. may not be bound in the future by the understanding that Taiwan is part of “one China” — casting doubt upon a concept that has been a key part of Sino-U.S. relations for decades, and threatening to send those relations into a tailspin.
On Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said his government was “seriously concerned” about the President’s comments, and that cordial development of ties “out of the question” unless that “political bedrock” of Sino-U.S. relations was maintained.
An earlier editorial in the state-linked Global Times was more strident, saying, “In response to Trump’s provocations, Beijing could offer support, even military assistance to U.S. foes.”
A Chinese-language version of that same article added that Trump was “like a child in his ignorance of foreign policy.”
China and Taiwan effectively split after China’s civil war in 1949, when routed Nationalists fled across the Taiwan Strait to the island.
Since that time, Beijing has considered Taiwan a renegade province, to be reclaimed by force if necessary.
On Dec. 2, the U.S. President angered the Chinese top brass by accepting a phone call from the President of Taiwan, the first direct contact between leaders of the U.S. and the self-governing island since formal diplomatic relations were severed in 1979.
Trump has been unrepentant about the call, and went further on this week’s Fox News Sunday by saying that the U.S. would only continue to recognize that Taiwan was part of China if significant concessions were wrested from Beijing.
“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 told Fox.
Trump said China was not cooperating with the U.S. on its valuation of its currency, on denuclearizing North Korea and on resolving territorial claims in the South China Sea.
On Dec. 2, the U.S. President angered the Chinese top brass by accepting a phone call from the President of Taiwan, the first direct contact between leaders of the U.S. and the self-governing island since formal diplomatic relations were severed in 1979.
Trump has been unrepentant about the call, and went further on this week’s Fox News Sunday by saying that the U.S. would only continue to recognize that Taiwan was part of China if significant concessions were wrested from Beijing.
“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 told Fox.
Trump said China was not cooperating with the U.S. on its valuation of its currency, on denuclearizing North Korea and on resolving territorial claims in the South China Sea.
He also said China should not be “dictating” whom he could speak to on the telephone.
Pro-China "experts" say Trump’s “swagger” has echoes of the Cold War strategy of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who significantly enhanced the American armed forces before engaging in negotiations with Soviet Russia.
Pro-China "experts" say Trump’s “swagger” has echoes of the Cold War strategy of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who significantly enhanced the American armed forces before engaging in negotiations with Soviet Russia.
Trump promised on the campaign trail to boost military spending by an estimated half a trillion dollars.
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