Tabnak – Even from the early days of his electoral campaign months ago, Donald Trump had shown signs of an unfavorable view toward China’s global role. Although after his official visit as the US president with his Chinese counterpart some observers talked about a shift in Trump’s views, recent trends have started to tell a different story once again.
According to a report published by CNN, in a flurry of announcements likely to antagonize Beijing, US President Donald Trump's administration has seemingly thrown its China policy into reverse, cooling relations between the two super powers.
In less than one week, the US has finalized a $1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, labeled China one of the world's worst human traffickers and imposed sanctions on a Chinese bank for doing business with North Korea.
Therefore, an outraged China urged the US on Friday to revoke immediately its "wrong decision" to sell arms to Taiwan which Beijing considers a renegade province.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said today that Beijing has lodged a formal protest with Washington and urged the US government to "uphold its solemn commitment to the One-China principle."
China's embassy in the United States said the sale was a "wrong move" that would hurt relations between the two countries because it would send a very wrong message to "Taiwan independence" forces.
In its report of the story, Press TV notes that the United States is the sole arms supplier to Taiwan which China regards a rebel province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it back under its control.
However, the huge amount and also the type of the arms which the US is supposed to deliver to Taiwan are of a greater importance comparing to the previous arms trades between the two sides. Washington Examiner has published a list of the new data-x-items to be sold to Taiwan which include:
* 50 high-speed anti-radiation missiles and 10 training missiles, for $147.5 million;
* 16 SM-2 missiles from Raytheon, along with guidance sections for $125 million;
* 46 Mark 48 heavy torpedoes for $250 million;
* Conversion kits for Mark 54 lightweight torpedoes for $175 million;
* 56 joint standoff weapon air-to-ground missiles for $185.5 million;
* Upgrades by Raytheon to electronic warfare systems for four Keelung-class destroyers for $80 million;
* Sustainment and logistical support for $400 million.
On the other hand, the new sanctions announced by the US against China aim to cut off China’s Bank of Dandong from US financial markets in an effort to block millions of dollars of transactions that funnel money into North Korea.
US citizens also will be prohibited from doing business with two Chinese business executives accused by Washington of establishing and running front companies on behalf of North Korea, and Dalian Global Unity Shipping Co., which is accused of transporting 700,000 tons of freight annually between China and North Korea.
Analyzing the recent US moves, The Guardian writes that both moves clearly represented a deliberate response from a Trump White House that is losing patience with Beijing. In this vein, the timing of the US actions – just ahead of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Beijing on 1 July – was particularly provocative.
However, as CNN notes, it is unknown how the announcements will impact on Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the meeting of the G20 next month. Whether China would start to initiate counter measures against the US is also a matter of wait and see.
