White House blasts China, announces Taiwan arms deal
The White House yesterday issued a broad-scale attack on Beijing’s predatory economic policies, military buildup, disinformation campaigns and human rights violations.
The 20-page report does not signal a shift in US policy, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorised to publicly discuss the report and spoke only on condition of anonymity, but it expands on Trump’s get-tough rhetoric that he hopes will resonate with voters angry about China’s handling of the disease outbreak that has left tens of millions of Americans out of work.
Later in the day, the
State Department announced that it had approved the sale of advanced torpedoes to the Taiwanese military, a move sure to draw a rebuke from Beijing, which regards the island as a renegade province. The department said it had informed Congress of the US$180 million ($294m) sale of heavyweight torpedoes, spare parts, support and testing equipment, which “will help improve the security of [Taiwan] and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region”.
While pushing back on China, Trump has sometimes uttered contradictory statements. He has talked about having a great personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, yet has repeatedly denounced China for not doing more to stop the virus from spreading across the world. He’ll criticise China, then say he wants Beijing to sign Phase II of a trade deal and join the United States and Russia in a three-way nuclear arms control treaty.
Yesterday, Trump wrote on Twitter that China’s “massive disinformation campaign” is intended to help Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election.
According to the report, the Trump administration sees “no value” in engaging with Beijing for symbolism and pageantry. “When quiet diplomacy proves futile, the United States will increase public pressure” on China.
The latest example of US and China power competition is playing out at the World Health Organisation. At the US health agency’s annual assembly this week, Xi joined by video conference to offer more money and support. Meanwhile, Trump railed against the WHO in a letter accusing it of covering up the coronavirus outbreak with China — and threatening to permanently halt US funding that has been its main financial lifeblood for years.