Fuzzy line on president-elect’s call to Taiwan

Trump’s intention over China relations unclear, expert says

BEIJING // Was US president-elect Donald Trump signalling a shift in US- China relations when he referred to Taiwan’s leader as “president” after a phone call this past week or was it an unintentional misstep?

His phone conversation with Tsai Ing- wen was a breach of long- standing tradition that risks enmity with China, but a China watcher said he could not yet be sure of the meaning.

Douglas Paal, a former director of the American Institute in Taiwan, which unofficially represents US interests in Taipei, said it was too soon to judge whether Mr Trump was going to lead that shift, or if the incident was just a “complicated accident”.

“Beijing will watch closely to see which it is,” said Mr Paal, who is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Vice president- elect Mike Pence insisted yesterdy that it was simply a “courtesy call”.

The US shifted diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 1979. But the governments in Washington and Taipei have maintained close unofficial ties and deep economic and defence relations.

The US is required by law to provide Taiwan with weapons to maintain its defence, and since 2009, the Obama administration has approved US$14 billion (Dh51.4bn) in arms sales to Taiwan. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said Mr Trump and Ms Tsai’s contact was “just a small trick by Taiwan” that he believed would not change US policy toward China.

Chinese state media yesterday said that Mr 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.