US-China-Taiwan Trilateral Relationship Has Completely Changed

  US-China-Taiwan Trilateral Relationship Has Completely Changed

China Times

November 8, 2017

Translation of an Exerpt

As we all know, cross-Strait relations have never been simply a relationship between the two sides of the Strait; the US factor has always played a pivotal role. The tripartite interactions between the US, China, and Taiwan are precisely the fundamental state of the cross-Strait question.

Mainland China’s attitude and strategy toward Sino-America relations have gradually become more mature and will profoundly impact the future direction of the US-China-Taiwan trilateral relationship. This is precisely the crucial variable long overlooked by Taiwan's society. In the course of its rise, the Mainland is profoundly aware of the risks of "the Thucydides trap," avoiding as much as possible the oversensitive response of the US as a result of its own rise.

Through nearly three decades of efforts, the Sino-America relationship has become increasingly mature, and following the expanded areas of bilateral cooperation, the risks of igniting bilateral clashes have been gradually diminishing. Moreover, both countries are willing to manage and control divergences with a proactive attitude; under such circumstances, the model of confrontation based on the Cold War mentality is clearly no longer applicable to the Sino-America relationship. For this reason, the US-China-Taiwan trilateral relationship that still retains the legacy of the Cold War is also increasingly inappropriate. In the US, narratives about abandoning Taiwan have occasionally occurred; Taiwan has also often worried internally, wondering whether the US will trade Taiwan as a chip in bargaining interests with China. This is precisely its background.

So far as the Tsai government is concerned, as the US-China-Taiwan relationship has undergone profound changes, it can no longer use the past mentality to guide cross-Strait policies in the future, because naturally it will not be able to find a new model for cross-Strait interactions, so the Tsai government needs to completely overhaul its Mainland policy.

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