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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Taiwan, US to hold first trade talks under new initiative

  • Island’s top trade negotiator John Deng and deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi will meet virtually after Deng tested positive for Covid-19
  • Discussion is likely to anger Beijing, which has voiced opposition to the framework that was announced at the start of this month

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The talks will add to tensions with Beijing, which opposes official contact between Washington and Taipei. Photo: Reuters
Lawrence Chung
Taiwan and the United States are to hold their first meeting under a new trade framework on Monday, talks that will add to tensions with Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as its own.
Taipei’s top trade negotiator John Deng will meet deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi to discuss the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, according to Bianchi’s office.
The talks will be held virtually after Deng contracted Covid-19 in Mexico, where he is isolating in a hotel, Hsiao Bi-khim, Taipei’s representative in the US, told the island’s semi-official Central News Agency on Sunday.
Trade negotiator John Deng has Covid-19 and is isolating at a hotel in Mexico. Photo: Handout
Trade negotiator John Deng has Covid-19 and is isolating at a hotel in Mexico. Photo: Handout

Deng tested positive on arrival to Mexico on June 18 after he had visited Switzerland and England on a trip promoting trade and economic cooperation, and has relatively mild symptoms, his office said.

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He has also had to miss SelectUSA, an annual investment summit being held in Maryland from Sunday to Wednesday, where he was supposed to lead a 265-strong Taiwanese business delegation. He was to meet Bianchi on the sidelines of the event.

The talks are likely to anger Beijing, which has voiced its opposition to the new trade initiative and any official contact between Taiwan and the US, which do not have official diplomatic ties.

Deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi will hold virtual talks on the new initiative. Photo: Handout
Deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi will hold virtual talks on the new initiative. Photo: Handout
Taipei and Washington announced the initiative on June 1 – soon after Taiwan was excluded from the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework signed by 12 Asia-Pacific nations and aimed at countering Beijing’s growing influence. Taipei says it will continue to seek to join the IPEF.
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