Chinese media: Taiwan phone call exposes Trump’s inexperience

BEIJING: Chinese state media said on Sunday that US President-elect Donald Trump’s “inexperience” led him to accept a phone call from Taiwan’s leader but warned that any breach of the One China policy would “destroy” Sino-US relations.

The call “exposed nothing but (Trump’s) and his transition team’s inexperience in dealing with foreign affairs”, said an editorial in the English-language China Daily newspaper, adding there was “no need to over-interpret” it.

But it hinted at the possible economic impact of any breakdown in ties, saying that China held $1.19 trillion in US treasury bonds and had bilateral trade worth $558 billion with the country last year.

“If Trump wants to overstep the One China principle, he will destroy Sino-US ties,” it said.

Trump’s call with Tsai Ing-Wen on Friday broke with decades of US foreign policy precedent, raising questions on whether it marked a deliberate pivot away from Washington’s official “One China” stance. Washington cut formal diplomatic relations with the island in 1979 and recognises Beijing as the sole government of “One China” — while keeping friendly, non-official ties with Taipei.

China regards self-ruling Taiwan as part of its own territory awaiting reunification under Beijing’s rule.

Trump congratulated Tsai on her election as president this year and discussed the “close economic, political and security ties” of the US and Taiwan, according to the president-elect’s office.

Beijing said it made solemn representations to the US after the call, which was initiated by Taiwan.

But its response has largely been muted, with most criticism in state media directed at Tsai, who has enraged mainland authorities by taking a more independent stance than her Beijing-friendly predecessor.

The often nationalistic Global Times newspaper in an editorial on Saturday threatened that Tsai would “pay the price” if Taiwan “crosses the red line”, and said China would “use its power without hesitation” to punish any move towards independence.

It attributed the call to her administration’s “tricks”, noting that Trump “is not familiar with foreign relations”.

After the Trump-Tsai call, the outgoing Obama administration said it had not changed its stance.

“There is no change to our longstanding policy on cross-Strait issues,” National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne told reporters.