Trump Reignites China Diplomatic Spat, Says Not Bound By "One China" Policy
By Tyler Durden
While the domestic US audience was focused on what Trump would say about the latest scandal of alleged Russian intervention in the US presidential elections, which as a reminder, he called “ridiculous” and suggested that democrats are behind the report, China was more curious by Trump’s foreign policy thoughts, which may have sparked yet another diplomatic spat, because one week after Trump snubbed America’s long-running “One China” policy, today the President-elect questioned whether the United States had to be bound by its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of “one China” and brushed aside Beijing’s concerns about his decision to accept a phone call from Taiwan’s president.
“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 said. Trump’s decision to accept a congratulatory telephone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2 prompted a diplomatic protest from Beijing, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.
Following Trump’s decision to nominate Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as the next U.S. ambassador to China, choosing a long-standing friend of Beijing after rattling the world’s second largest economy with tough talk on trade and the call with the leader of Taiwan, pundits thought that Trump would moderate his diplomatic outbursts vis-a-vis China. However, in the Fox interview, Trump brought up a litany of complaints about China which he had emphasized during his presidential campaign, and which may provoke an fresh bout of harsh criticism from China.
“We’re being hurt very badly by China with devaluation, with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don’t tax them, with building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, which they shouldn’t be doing, and frankly with not helping us at all with North Korea,” Trump said. “You have North Korea. You have nuclear weapons and China could solve that problem and they’re not helping us at all.”
Here, contrary to Trump’s allegations, over the past two years China has been doing everything in its power to prop up its rapidly devaluing currency, which recently hit record lows against the dollar as a result of ongoing capital flight by domestic depositors who are scrambling to park their savings offshore realizing just how insolvent local financial institutions are.
The President-elect further criticized China over its currency policies, its activities in the South China Sea and its stance toward North Korea and said it was not up to Beijing to decide whether he should take a call from Taiwan’s leader.
“I don’t want China dictating to me and this was a call put in to me,” Trump said. “It was a very nice call. Short. And why should some other nation be able to say I can’t take a call?”
“I think it actually would’ve been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it,” Trump added.
Trump questioning of long-standing U.S. policy risks antagonizing Beijing …read more
Source: Trump Reignites China Diplomatic Spat, Says Not Bound By "One China" Policy
