President Trump will soon have a face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Although Trump would likely prefer to talk about a trade deal, Xi will just as certainly be emphasizing the sensitive issue of Taiwan. The recently reignited trade war seems to show that Beijing is now playing hard ball.
In fact, a recent report suggests Beijing will be aiming for a “grand bargain,” attempting to bring Washington’s and Beijing’s priorities into alignment. This bargain would trade Chinese economic concessions for movement on its priority issue: Taiwan.
Xi reportedly wants Trump to move American policy away from the current language of “not supporting Taiwan independence” to “opposing” Taiwan independence. Trump should meet with Xi, and he would be wise to consider accepting some variant of this deal.
Yes, the two leaders will inevitably focus on trade tensions, but a new agreement on Taiwan will put a more solid foundation under this key bilateral relationship.
American foreign and defense policies have long been distorted by the notion that Taiwan constitutes a vital U.S. national security interest. Here’s the big secret: It doesn’t.
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