Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government said the announced talks would be a violation of the policy, shared with the United States, that there is only one China that includes Taiwan and is governed from Beijing, and warned that encouraging Taiwan to making their de facto independence permanent would lead to war.
“China firmly opposes this,” said Commerce Ministry spokeswoman Shu Jueting, calling on Washington to “fully respect China’s core interests,” the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
Also yesterday, the Taiwan Army conducted a missile and cannon drill to simulate a response to a Chinese missile attack.
Taiwan and China separated in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment. The island has never been part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but the ruling Communist Party says it is obliged to join the mainland, by force if necessary.
The talks between the United States and Taiwan, which will begin in the third quarter of the year, will cover several areas, including agriculture, digital trade and the reduction or elimination of tariff barriers, according to a statement from the Office of the Trade Representative of the Government of the United States president. Joe Biden.
In addition to the development of exchanges and investments, the negotiations will address the issue of responses to “anti-market policies and methods”, announced the office of the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, which could be interpreted as a reference to China. .
The formal start of these new discussions is a sign of the United States’ willingness to get closer to Taiwan, already an important trading partner.
“We welcome this opportunity to deepen economic collaboration between our two freedom-loving countries,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a tweet.
Taiwan is a global producer and supplier of the most advanced semiconductors, used in many fields, from mobile phones to computers, from automobiles to missiles.
Washington diplomatically recognizes China, but maintains de facto relations with Taiwan and defends the island’s right to decide its future.
The United States now accuses China of using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to intimidate and coerce Taiwan with its military maneuvers. “Although our policy has not changed, what has changed is China’s increasing coercion,” Daniel Kritenbrink, Washington’s envoy to East Asia, told reporters in a conference call.
“These actions are part of an intensified pressure campaign to intimidate and pressure Taiwan and undermine its resistance,” Kritenbrink added.
The diplomat said he believed that the pressure on the Taiwanese government will continue in the coming “weeks and months.” “(China’s) words and actions are deeply destabilizing. They risk causing miscalculation and threaten stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Kritenbrink added.
He anticipated that Washington will respond with “calm but determined steps” to keep the Taiwan Strait open and peaceful.
Source: Ambito
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