America's systematic push for a 'two-China solution'

APD NEWS

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If the Biden administration could use "separation of powers" as the excuse to rid itself of being responsible for U.S. lawmakers' continued visit to China's Taiwan region, it can't get off the hook this time.

On August 17, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, a part of the Executive Office of the President, announced that it has "reached consensus on the negotiating mandate for the U.S.-Taiwan initiative on 21st-Century Trade." The first round of negotiations are scheduled to take place in early fall. AP describes the move as "a sign of support for the island democracy that China claims as its own territory."

AP's description precisely reflects the mentality behind America's continued provocation and infringement on China's sovereignty. Despite officially acknowledging the one-China principle, the U.S. politicians have been turning to aggressively pursue what Henry Kissinger warned against as the "Two-China solution." From the cabinet-level officials' visits to the island during the Trump administration to the U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's trip just a couple of weeks ago, the United States has made it abundantly clear that despite paying lip service to the one-China principle, American politicians can freely treat the island as a separate entity from China. Not to mention, there has been more than $20 billion dollars of arms sales since 2016 and the American military is constantly showing their teeth around the island that are intended to scare off any actions by the Chinese mainland.

Political, military, now comes the economic infringement.

The trade negotiation is just the beginning. The United States have been wanting to bring China's Taiwan region into more international institutions and organizations that China is already in. During the COVID-19 pandemic, American politicians decried that the World Health Organization didn't accept Taiwan as a member and pushed to have Taiwan included at the World Health Assembly. When Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, it is reported to have excluded Taiwan so that other countries won't have to worry about offending China. This new trade initiative looks like a suitable first step for the U.S. to settle a "bilateral" trade relationship with the region before finding a way to bring it into a more multilateral framework.

(CGTN)