Beijing strongly opposes latest US arms sales to Taiwan

Beijing strongly opposes United States’ arms sales to Taiwan under any pretext, An Fengshan, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday.

“We resolutely oppose any form of official exchanges and military contacts between the Taiwan region and the US. Any act of relying on foreign forces for self-elevation or sabotaging the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits is sure to reap bad consequences,” he said at a news conference in Beijing.

On Tuesday, the US State Department approved the sale of military spare parts worth $330 million to Taiwan, including those for F-16 fighters, C-130 cargo planes and other aircraft, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Tang Yonghong, deputy director of the Taiwan Research Center at Xiamen University in Fujian province, said the sale was no larger than recent transactions, but it happened during a time of tensions between Beijing and Washington.

“During such confrontation, the US will use various bargaining chips including using Taiwan,” he said, adding that Taiwan authorities also wish to take advantage of US power to oppose Beijing.

“So the sale is just an excuse for Taiwan and the US to use each other so that the US can reach the strategic goal of suppressing China by playing the Taiwan card,” he said.

Tang said the sale is likely to intensify the confrontational status across the Straits and not help maintain the peace and stability of bilateral relations.

Beijing has strongly protested the sale and urged Washington to immediately withdraw the deal and cease military contacts with Taiwan to avoid more damage to Sino-US relations and stability across the Straits.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday that the arms sales severely contravene international law and basic norms governing international relations, and severely violate the one-China principle and the principles of the three ChinaUS joint communiques.

He also added that China has lodged “stern representations” with the US.

The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Tuesday that the Chinese military is strongly dissatisfied and demands the US immediately cancel the deal and stop military exchanges with Taiwan.

“The arms sales to Taiwan have seriously violated the oneChina policy, interfere with the country’s domestic affairs and harm Chinese sovereignty and security interests, as well as Sino-US relations,” it said.

An Fengshan also urged Taiwan on Wednesday to immediately stop any infiltration activities that damage national security, and to better protect mainland students.

An made the remarks in response to news of several espionage cases in which some mainland students were incited to provide confidential information to Taiwan’s spy network.

He said the security authorities cracked down on such cases in accordance with the law and in an aim to maintain national security and stability of relations across the Straits, as well as safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of compatriots on both sides.

Taiwan authorities have evaded the facts, confused right and wrong, and put the blame on the Chinese mainland, An said, adding that “the facts will speak stronger than words”.

“The Chinese mainland has always encouraged more youth exchanges across the Straits, but Taiwan’s intelligence agencies have put their dirty hands on young innocent mainland students in a despicable way. Their actions have severely damaged the students’ interests as well as the educational exchanges,” he said.

No one emerges winner in a trade war. Instead, its adverse effects spill across borders. Indeed, the forecast for Asia is a drop in economic growth rate as the US-China trade conflict threatens to inflict more collateral damage on the region’s export-reliant economies. An Asian Development Bank report issued on Wednesday said the region’s growth will drop from 6.0 percent this year to 5.8 percent in 2019.

This is not the first time international institutions have sounded the alarm over the potential economic damage a trade war between the world’s two largest economies can do to the global economy. Earlier, the International Monetary Fund warned the world economy could lose $430 billion by 2020 if the Sino-US trade conflict escalates.

Yet such warnings have fallen on the deaf ears of US President Donald Trump, who went ahead and imposed additional tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports on Monday, forcing China to respond by levying tariffs on $60 billion of US goods.

Rising US protectionism has become the biggest threat to global recovery, as higher tariffs will inevitably hurt consumer sentiments, disrupt supply chains, and dampen business confidence. Which could ultimately lead to global recession.

On the other hand, an increasingly inward-looking United States will only force other economies to further open up their markets and forge closer economic ties, shifting the global economic center of gravity away from the US.

China and the US would only lose if they confront each other, as State Councilor Wang Yi said at a meeting with former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger on the sidelines of a United Nations General Assembly session in New York on Tuesday.

It is still not late for Trump to abandon his Cold War mentality and change course, for his moves have already raised tensions over a range of issues, from the trade conflict and the Taiwan question to the sanctions against a People’s Liberation Army department and its chief.

And on Wednesday, the US said it is considering imposing economic penalties on Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. If it does so, it would be a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs — a violation of China’s sovereignty.

The US’ actions have not benefited any country, least of all the US, so it’s high time the US president realized that for peace and prosperity, the world needs fair competition, not confrontation between major powers.