Why Trump’s new security strategy on China and Taiwan means the gloves are off in Sino-US rivalry

Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House has been a mixed bag for Beijing. On the one hand, Trump’s hostile campaign rhetoric was followed by acts that rubbed China’s nerves raw, such as his phone call with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen during the transition period, along with the new administration’s first arms sales to Taipei.

On the other hand, Trump’s businessman-like manner, the ­ambiguous role of Beijing-friendly figures like his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and his animosity towards the Trans-Pacific Partnership, all appeared as a set of positives that Beijing could capitalise on.

Since Trump’s inauguration in January, some moments have elated US allies, even as certain actions have made them anxious about the future of US commitment. China surely would not mind a slow disintegration of the alliance network that Washington maintains in the Asia-Pacific (or ­Indo-Pacific, as the new nomenclature goes). Thus, it was not unreasonable for pundits in China to view Trump’s presidency in a positive light.

However, the Trump administration’s new national security strategy will put questions about US alliance commitments to rest, at least for the foreseeable ­future. Trump is not likely to refrain from berating allies now and then, but the new security strategy firmly ­embraces what has been a mainstream approach to US alliances.