US-China ties should not be ‘held hostage’ by Taiwan issue, says Chinese political scientist and adviser to Beijing

Name: William Lai wins Taiwan presidential election
Uploaded: 2024-01-15T14:00:22.000Z
Duration: 55 s
Description: William Lai wins Taiwan presidential election

Taiwan remains ‘core’ issue in US-China ties, but it is ‘not the whole story’, noted professor and adviser to Beijing’s policymakers says

In comments posted on WeChat, Zheng Yongnian urges Beijing to explore ‘salami slicing’ approach to push for peaceful reunification

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A fishing boat sails at the north end of Pingtan Island, the closest point in mainland China to Taiwan’s main island. Photo: AFP

Dewey Sim

Published: 10:00pm, 15 Jan 2024Updated: 10:26pm, 15 Jan 2024

Beijing should not let US relations be “held hostage” by the Taiwan issue, a noted political scientist and adviser to Chinese policymakers has urged.

Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Shenzhen campus, said while Taiwan remained a “core” issue in US-China ties, it was “not the whole story”.

Rather, Beijing should construct a “new Taiwan narrative” for the world, Zheng said, in comments published on social media the day after the island chose an independence-leaning candidate to be its next president.

“[Beijing] must make it clear to the world that the Taiwan issue is not an issue of democracy and freedom, but an issue of sovereignty that cannot be discussed”.

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William Lai wins Taiwan presidential election

Zheng also said the US was mainly using Taiwan as a “bargaining chip … to contain China” but suggested that Washington and Beijing could find new shared interests.