China ‘firmly’ opposes US-Taiwan trade initiative
China says it is “firmly” opposed to the launch of a joint trade initiative between the US and Chinese Taipei that bypasses Beijing.
Washington and Taipei unveiled the so-called Initiative on 21st Century Trade — which will purportedly address issues including customs procedures and digital economy practices — on Wednesday, after Taipei was excluded from the recently-launched US-led Indo-Pacific economic initiative.
On Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry expressed Beijing’s opposition to the new initiative.
“The United States should prudently handle trade and economic ties with Taiwan to avoid sending a wrong message to Taiwan separatists,” the ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, told an online briefing.
China has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, and under the “One China” policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. The US, too, recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.
The US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade was unveiled by US Deputy Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwan Minister-Without-Portfolio John Deng during a virtual meeting under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO).
The initiative, which marks the official launch of trade negotiations between the two sides, will cover 11 key areas, according to Deng, including “trade facilitation, regulatory practices, agriculture, anti-corruption, supporting small and medium sized enterprises, digital trade, labor rights, the environment, standards, state owned enterprises and non-market practices and policies.”
Deng hailed the initiative as a “historic breakthrough” and noted that it would act as a precursor to signing a free trade agreement.
The US, which backs Taipei’s secessionist president, also continues to sell weapons to the island in violation of its own stated policy.
Tensions between Chinese Taipei and China have been at their highest in decades. China has been flying fighter jets close to Chinese Taipei while the US has reportedly had troops deployed in the territory for the past year for training purposes.
The US-China relations have also grown increasingly tense in recent years, with the world’s two largest economies clashing over a range of issues, including trade, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, military activities in the South China Sea, and the origins of the coronavirus.
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