Taiwanese trade visit will infuriate China

A TAIWANESE delegation of government officials and business leaders is to visit Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania in October, challenging Be i j i n g ’s attempts to diplomatically isolate Taipei.

The visit also seizes on growing international support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese invasion threats.

A Taiwanese government announcement this week said the 65-member group aims to promote trade ties and investment, but the symbolism of the trip has gained outsized importance amid shifting global alliances that increasingly recognise the strategic importance of protecting the democratic island of 24million.

On Friday, the US and Australia pledged to “strengthen ties with Taiwan” on the back of a landmark Aukus security deal, which is seen as targeting Beijing’s growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

Europe has stepped up its own efforts to counter Chinese economic influence, and this week launched its “Global Gateway” scheme to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, its global infrastructure project.

But European recognition of Taiwan’s growing international status is being led by small, former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states. Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania have all given coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan and have shown signs of wanting closer relations.

Vilnius, in particular, has been at the forefront of fighting Chinese attempts to prevent Taiwan forging closer trade and political ties within Europe. Taiwan is officially recognised by only 15 countries although it operates like any other nation.

When Taiwan announced in July it was setting up a representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwan” instead of “Taipei”, in a diplomatic departure from standard practice, Be i j i n g withdrew its ambassador to Lithuania, and demanded Vilnius do the same.

During a visit to the US this week by Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, pledged “ironclad US support” and greater trade ties in the face of “attempted coercion” by China.