https://www.scmp.com/rss/513271/feed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on August 2, 2022, during a tour of Asia despite repeated warnings from Beijing and the risk of military conflict between the US and China. Heightened tensions caused by the trip led to the deployment of a PLA destroyer and guided missile frigate in waters east of Taiwan. The US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and amphibious ship USS Tripoli were also reported to be operating near the island. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as the powerful speaker of the US House of Representatives, said on Thursday that she would not run for re-election to Congress in 2026, ending the four-decade career of a Democratic figure often vilified by the right. The 85-year-old congresswoman, first elected in 1987, made her announcement two days after voters in California overwhelmingly approved “Proposition 50”, a state redistricting effort aimed at flipping five House seats to Democrats in next... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331832/nancy-pelosi-first-female-speaker-us-house-announces-retirement-wont-seek-re-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331832/nancy-pelosi-first-female-speaker-us-house-announces-retirement-wont-seek-re-election?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:43:05 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik China has accused the United States and Britain of undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait with their decision to send warships through the waterway, a mission that the two allies described as routine. The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command said Chinese naval and air forces closely monitored the destroyer USS Higgins and the British frigate HMS Richmond as they transited the strait on Friday. The passage amounted to “harassment and provocation”, command spokesman... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3325426/china-tracks-us-british-warships-taiwan-strait-transit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3325426/china-tracks-us-british-warships-taiwan-strait-transit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 07:00:13 +0000 Events since the start of the year have reignited the downward spiral in relations between mainland China and Taiwan that accelerated following Democratic Progressive Party leader William Lai Ching-te’s election victory last year. In February, the US State Department removed mention of opposition to Taiwan independence from its website. In mid-March, Lai lashed out against Beijing, calling it a “foreign hostile force”. At the end of the month, during a visit to Japan, United States Defence... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305250/missed-signals-only-worsen-tensions-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305250/missed-signals-only-worsen-tensions-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Laura Zhou,Igor Patrick Laura Zhou,Igor Patrick US President Joe Biden will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday in what is likely to be their last face-to-face talk as presidents, according to a senior American official, as Beijing braces for the return of Donald Trump. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, and will be their third in-person meeting during Biden’s presidency. Biden is the only American president to have not visited China while in office... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286457/joe-biden-and-xi-jinping-are-expected-meet-apec-sidelines-peru-us-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286457/joe-biden-and-xi-jinping-are-expected-meet-apec-sidelines-peru-us-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Nov 2024 17:35:14 +0000 With the United States House of Representatives backing a US$1.6 billion anti-China bill, tense bilateral relations are set to get a lot worse. There is entrenched bipartisan consensus that a rising China represents an existential threat to America’s best interests, supported by increasingly negative American public opinion towards China. While agreeing on guard rails against war between two major nuclear powers, neither Democratic nominee Kamala Harris nor Republican nominee Donald Trump wants... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3280639/5-major-blind-spots-pushing-us-conflict-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3280639/5-major-blind-spots-pushing-us-conflict-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Oct 2024 21:30:08 +0000 A US military commander has urged China to reconsider its “dangerous” tactics in the South China Sea at the first video call between Chinese and American theatre commanders in more than two years. Wu Yanan, commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command, and Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, had “an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern” on Tuesday morning, China’s defence ministry said. Experts said the call showed military... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3277878/chinese-us-theatre-commanders-talk-first-time-2022-row-over-pelosi-taiwan-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3277878/chinese-us-theatre-commanders-talk-first-time-2022-row-over-pelosi-taiwan-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Sep 2024 03:41:58 +0000 Scheduled visits to Taiwan by two mainland Chinese academic delegations in recent days have been postponed due to obstacles imposed by Taipei, according to Taiwanese media. One of the delegations, led by Xiamen University’s Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies (GIFTS), had been scheduled to visit Taiwan last Thursday for academic exchanges, Taiwan’s United Daily News (UDN) reported. A separate delegation, led by the president of Xiamen University, had been scheduled to visit Taiwan today, but... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3277677/taiwan-delays-trips-mainland-chinese-scholars-fresh-setback-cross-strait-visits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3277677/taiwan-delays-trips-mainland-chinese-scholars-fresh-setback-cross-strait-visits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Sep 2024 13:00:13 +0000 Washington’s policy of strategic ambiguity has undercut Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against Beijing, sending mixed signals amid the mainland’s blockades and grey-zone activities, the head of an influential business association said on Wednesday. Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, a non-profit group fostering trade and business relations between the two sides, believed an administration led by Donald Trump could adopt a clearer policy towards Taiwan sooner... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3276321/us-policy-undercuts-taiwans-ability-defend-against-mainland-china-lobbying-group-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3276321/us-policy-undercuts-taiwans-ability-defend-against-mainland-china-lobbying-group-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2024 22:00:13 +0000 The Chinese and US defence ministers held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, the first in-person meeting between ministers since 2022. Senior Colonel Wu Qian, a spokesman for China’s defence ministry, said the bilateral meeting between Dong Jun and Lloyd Austin was “positive, practical and constructive” communication at the strategic level. He said that during the meeting, the two exchanged views, including on relations between the two... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3264822/china-us-relations-defence-ministers-dong-jun-and-lloyd-austin-meet-shangri-la-dialogue-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3264822/china-us-relations-defence-ministers-dong-jun-and-lloyd-austin-meet-shangri-la-dialogue-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2024 04:54:34 +0000 The increased presence of mainland Chinese coastguard ships patrolling the waters around Taiwan-controlled Quemoy has left Taipei with a dilemma regarding the most appropriate steps to assert its claim. Under Taiwan’s rules of engagement and “first strike” policy, relevant authorities are authorised to target and, in serious cases, open fire on vessels persistently violating warnings by remaining within the waters of Quemoy, a Taiwanese defence outpost also known as Kinmen. However, analysts... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3262227/taiwan-finds-concerns-grow-and-options-shrink-mainland-china-increases-patrols-around-taipei?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3262227/taiwan-finds-concerns-grow-and-options-shrink-mainland-china-increases-patrols-around-taipei?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2024 01:00:26 +0000 A senior US official emphasised the need to maintain the status quo when it came to US policy towards Taiwan on Tuesday, arguing the approach has “stood the test of time”. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said “it’s vitally important that the United States continue to be the party working towards the status quo, maintaining the status quo, not being the party that is somehow changing our... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3261004/us-keeping-status-quo-taiwan-policy-vitally-important-senior-american-diplomat-testifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3261004/us-keeping-status-quo-taiwan-policy-vitally-important-senior-american-diplomat-testifies?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2024 22:50:32 +0000 US and Chinese military officials have met in Hawaii to discuss ways to avoid accidental clashes in the contentious Indo-Pacific region – their first face-to-face gathering since the leaders of both countries agreed in November to resume direct military communications. Held in Honolulu, the meeting of the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement Working Group took place on Wednesday and Thursday. The US was represented by officers from the Indo-Pacific Command, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Air... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3258046/us-china-military-talks-address-potential-accidental-conflicts-indo-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3258046/us-china-military-talks-address-potential-accidental-conflicts-indo-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:52:33 +0000 Mainland Chinese coastguard have pledged to regularly patrol the waters near Quemoy, a Taiwan-controlled group of islands also known as Kinmen. This comes days after Beijing condemned Taiwan over the deaths of two mainland Chinese fishermen whose boat capsized during a chase by Taiwanese patrol vessels near Quemoy. In a statement on its website on Sunday, the mainland coastguard said its Fujian bureau would carry out regular patrols and inspections in waters between Xiamen and Taiwan to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3252342/mainland-china-coastguard-vows-regular-patrols-waters-where-2-fishermen-died-after-taiwan-coastguard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3252342/mainland-china-coastguard-vows-regular-patrols-waters-where-2-fishermen-died-after-taiwan-coastguard?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 12:01:17 +0000 The election of William Lai Ching-te as Taipei’s leader portends turbulence across the Taiwan Strait. For Southeast Asia, the hotspot is now more dangerous, given the actors involved and the importance they attach to the issue, the dearth of formal dialogue between the direct parties, Beijing’s non-disavowal of the use of force and the deadlines floated for unification. The Taiwan Strait is connected to the South China Sea, another regional hotspot where both Beijing and Taipei, along with four... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249803/amid-rising-tensions-across-taiwan-strait-asean-has-tread-carefully?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249803/amid-rising-tensions-across-taiwan-strait-asean-has-tread-carefully?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:30:10 +0000 With the unprecedented third election victory of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and Beijing branding president-elect William Lai Ching-te an “obstinate Taiwan-independence worker”, two questions are being asked: Can peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait can be maintained? And is achieving unification by 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China’s centenary, still a realistic idea? As of June last year, according to a long-running poll by Taiwan’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249396/how-beijing-can-make-reunification-more-appealing-taiwanese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249396/how-beijing-can-make-reunification-more-appealing-taiwanese?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jan 2024 21:30:13 +0000 The first presidential election of major global consequence this year takes place in Taiwan on January 13. Given that Taiwan and Hong Kong have more similarities than meet the eye, politicians in Taiwan should be wishing the city well, rather than criticising Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems”. Relations between Beijing and Washington nosedived with then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on August 2, 2022. Beijing objected to her trip because it signalled... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247805/instead-criticising-hong-kongs-system-taiwan-should-keep-its-options-open?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247805/instead-criticising-hong-kongs-system-taiwan-should-keep-its-options-open?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jan 2024 01:30:11 +0000 As Beijing braces for a possible victory by another independence-leaning president in Taiwan’s January 13 election, it faces a fundamental dilemma: how to show its grave displeasure at what it sees as a dangerous drift towards Taiwanese national sovereignty without tipping the region into war. Each time Beijing has decided a “red line” is crossed, it has upped the ante. It has tried bluster, threats, missiles, fighter jets, charm offensives, temporary blockades, trade restrictions and cyber... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3247454/beijings-dilemma-if-dpp-wins-taiwan-presidential-election-what-level-response?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3247454/beijings-dilemma-if-dpp-wins-taiwan-presidential-election-what-level-response?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:00:08 +0000 Air Force General CQ Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with his Chinese counterpart General Liu Zhenli via videoconference on Thursday in a step towards restoring military-to-military dialogue between the two global powers, the Pentagon has announced. The talks mark the first senior military communication between Washington and Beijing since the Chinese government halted all such engagements in response to then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3245922/top-us-military-officer-speaks-chinese-counterpart-us-aims-warm-relations-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3245922/top-us-military-officer-speaks-chinese-counterpart-us-aims-warm-relations-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Dec 2023 14:02:58 +0000 When Tsai Ing-wen was elected the first woman president of Taiwan in 2016, the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shied away from sending any official representatives or lawmakers to attend her inauguration, mindful of its ties to mainland China. Four years later, after Tsai won re-election, New Delhi’s political considerations had changed such that Modi saw fit to dispatch two Indian lawmakers to attend her oath-taking ceremony virtually as the coronavirus pandemic took hold... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3243814/how-narendra-modis-india-tiptoeing-towards-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3243814/how-narendra-modis-india-tiptoeing-towards-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Dec 2023 18:31:45 +0000 With less than two months to go before Taiwan’s presidential election, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is facing problems. While Taiwanese Vice-President and DPP presidential candidate William Lai Ching-te remains the front runner, a recent poll shows his lead is slipping. This might come as a surprise to some, but the fact is that the DPP has done a mediocre job in many vital areas, even as the island’s situation becomes more precarious. With Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242985/taiwan-election-2024-why-dpp-facing-uphill-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242985/taiwan-election-2024-why-dpp-facing-uphill-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:30:19 +0000 Top-level US-China military talks must wait until Beijing appoints a new defence minister, the Pentagon said on Thursday, a day after Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to resume direct military communications. “As these agreements were just reached yesterday, we know that we have work to do with [China’s] military to solidify these principles for actions,” said Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “will meet with his counterpart when that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3241840/us-defence-secretary-lloyd-austin-meet-chinese-counterpart-when-person-named?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3241840/us-defence-secretary-lloyd-austin-meet-chinese-counterpart-when-person-named?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:15:12 +0000 The summit between presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in San Francisco has opened a critical window of opportunity to put the bilateral relationship back on track. It followed a turbulent period since their last meeting a year ago, since which ties plunged to a new low. With the United States now entering an election season, it is likely to have been their last chance to meet until at least 2025. So this meeting was a chance to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241827/xi-biden-talks-open-door-more-constructive-ties-will-benefit-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241827/xi-biden-talks-open-door-more-constructive-ties-will-benefit-world?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:31:05 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his US counterpart Joe Biden to stop arming Taiwan and denied Beijing has imminent plans for military aggression, in a candid exchange on the “most dangerous” issue in the bilateral relationship. During his four-hour meeting with Biden on Wednesday in California, Xi said Beijing’s preference was for peaceful reunification with Taiwan, but went on to talk about conditions in which force could be used, according to a senior US official. Xi was trying to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241699/xi-biden-summit-military-military-talks-resume-equality-and-respect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241699/xi-biden-summit-military-military-talks-resume-equality-and-respect?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Nov 2023 01:20:58 +0000 Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden will sit down for a summit on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the annual Apec meetings in San Francisco, for a range of “potentially contentious” topics including the need for military-to-military dialogue, according to the White House. Beijing has also confirmed that the meeting will go ahead. China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that Xi would go to San Francisco from Tuesday to Friday, where he would meet his US counterpart and attend the Asia-Pacific... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241009/xi-biden-summit-confirmed-wednesday-contentious-issues-table?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241009/xi-biden-summit-confirmed-wednesday-contentious-issues-table?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:00:17 +0000 It could help global recovery from the pandemic slowdown if China and the West properly manage obstacles in their trade and economic ties. Some encouraging signs have emerged in trade talks between Chinese officials and their American and European counterparts, with working groups set up to handle contentious issues. As a result, it is to be hoped there is greater cooperation and dialogue, and less confrontation and tit-for-tat measures that do nothing to resolve disputes. China and the United... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236193/working-groups-help-thaw-china-relations-us-and-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236193/working-groups-help-thaw-china-relations-us-and-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:11:28 +0000 Senior Pentagon officials have testified that China’s military is likely to fail if it sought to blockade Taiwan and that there was nothing easy about invading the self-ruled island. Ely Ratner, the US assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said during a congressional hearing on Tuesday it would be a “huge miscalculation” for Beijing to try to cut off the island. “We believe, based on our analysis, that Taiwan would have options on its own and with the international... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3235128/chinese-military-blockade-taiwan-would-likely-fail-and-nothing-easy-about-invasion-pentagon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3235128/chinese-military-blockade-taiwan-would-likely-fail-and-nothing-easy-about-invasion-pentagon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Sep 2023 21:45:40 +0000 Escalating cross-strait tensions have prompted Taiwan to plan new medical facilities to better treat mass casualties in the event of conflict with mainland China. The island’s defence ministry proposes to spend NT$986.3 million (US$31 million) on facilities to support the military’s medical capacity to preserve combat forces, according to the budget for the 2024 financial year sent to the legislature for review in the upcoming session that begins on September 11. Under the plan for the next four... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3233334/case-mainland-china-attacks-taiwan-looks-boost-medical-facilities-better-treat-mass-casualties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3233334/case-mainland-china-attacks-taiwan-looks-boost-medical-facilities-better-treat-mass-casualties?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Sep 2023 08:49:28 +0000 Countries in the Indo-Pacific are “desperate” for an increased American presence as they fear the risks of an “unanchored and untethered China”, the US ambassador to Japan said on Wednesday. Rahm Emanuel’s assertion came amid criticism from Beijing as US President Joe Biden and his administration prepare for a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Washington has said the gathering at Camp David in Maryland is meant to consolidate a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3231346/fears-over-china-fuel-wish-larger-american-presence-indo-pacific-us-ambassador-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3231346/fears-over-china-fuel-wish-larger-american-presence-indo-pacific-us-ambassador-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Aug 2023 22:59:35 +0000 Frequent People’s Liberation Army operations around Taiwan have sharply increased the cost of fuel for the island’s military, prompting it to increase its budget by 55 per cent for next year to tackle ever-growing challenges from across the strait. The amount spent on fuel by the Taiwanese air force and navy for shadowing, patrols and other missions will go up to roughly NT$11 billion (US$344 million) for the 2024 financial year from NT$7.1 billion this year, according to the island’s defence... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3231172/mainland-chinas-sorties-around-taiwan-force-island-push-military-fuel-budget-55-cent-us344-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3231172/mainland-chinas-sorties-around-taiwan-force-island-push-military-fuel-budget-55-cent-us344-million?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2023 13:00:18 +0000 It is disturbing to observe mainstream media outlets, primarily in the US, sowing suspicion in people’s minds that mainland China is on a war footing and preparations are under way to attack Taiwan. Such coverage heightens political tensions and increases public fears of imminent military conflict. These news reports appear regularly, and I am repeatedly contacted by concerned friends in the US and elsewhere, worried at the prospect of war between the mainland and Taiwan. Ratcheting up such a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3230505/stop-pushing-lie-mainland-china-brink-war-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3230505/stop-pushing-lie-mainland-china-brink-war-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2023 17:00:10 +0000 Washington already faces obstacles understanding Beijing’s decision-making process, and it could be growing into a “dangerous trend” since China cut military communication channels with the US, a former US military intelligence leader said on Monday. “China is tough to truly understand … We don’t have enough and we need to have greater understanding so we can map out decision-making circles, and who influences who, and how choices were made,” Michael Studeman, a rear admiral who was commander of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3230321/ex-naval-intelligence-commander-sees-dangerous-trend-closed-us-china-communications?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3230321/ex-naval-intelligence-commander-sees-dangerous-trend-closed-us-china-communications?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Aug 2023 22:27:35 +0000 Diplomatic outreach to Beijing by US President Joe Biden’s administration over the past week reflects the US leader’s wish to ease fallout from additional restrictions on hi-tech exports to China expected soon, according to two analysts in Washington. Chinese foreign policy chief Wang Yi met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday on the sidelines of an annual gathering of Asean foreign ministers in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, the second meeting between the top diplomats in less... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3227552/chinas-wang-yi-us-secretary-state-antony-blinken-meet-second-time-within-month-sign-further-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3227552/chinas-wang-yi-us-secretary-state-antony-blinken-meet-second-time-within-month-sign-further-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:54:02 +0000 The Chinese mainland is ramping up efforts to seek a military reunification with Taiwan, perhaps as early as 2027. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment in the international community amid US-China tensions. That was also the underlying theme of a panel discussion I was invited to, delicately put in the programme as “the geopolitical challenges of Taiwan and its neighbours”, last month at the World News Media Congress in Taipei. At the panel and in subsequent interactions with fellow... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3226823/dispel-war-talk-us-and-china-must-forge-new-understanding-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3226823/dispel-war-talk-us-and-china-must-forge-new-understanding-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jul 2023 17:00:22 +0000 While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China this weekend is not expected to bring about major breakthroughs, Chinese analysts remain hopeful of positive outcomes, however limited they may be. Blinken said one of the major goals of his trip was to establish “open and empowered communications” with Chinese officials. “Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” Blinken said hours before departing for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3224446/chinese-analysts-see-ray-hope-blinken-stresses-need-open-us-china-talks-beijing-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3224446/chinese-analysts-see-ray-hope-blinken-stresses-need-open-us-china-talks-beijing-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jun 2023 10:35:18 +0000 Manoeuvring by a Chinese warship in the Taiwan Strait on Saturday a few days after a Chinese air force jet came dangerously close to a US aircraft was “unsafe and unprofessional”, a senior National Security Council official said on Monday. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby added that the close calls elevated tensions at a time when relations between the two major powers were already strained. “It won’t be long before somebody gets hurt,” Kirby said at a regular White House briefing.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3223054/us-military-slams-chinese-warships-unsafe-and-unprofessional-manoeuvres-taiwan-strait?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3223054/us-military-slams-chinese-warships-unsafe-and-unprofessional-manoeuvres-taiwan-strait?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2023 22:03:00 +0000 Senior American and Chinese diplomats held “candid, constructive and fruitful” discussions on Monday in Beijing amid ongoing efforts to keep lines of communication open and build on recent diplomatic overtures between the two countries. Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant US secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs – the most senior American official confirmed to have visited China since an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down in US airspace in early February – met executive foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3223048/us-and-chinese-diplomats-held-candid-and-productive-discussions-beijing-state-department?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3223048/us-and-chinese-diplomats-held-candid-and-productive-discussions-beijing-state-department?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2023 18:00:17 +0000 Chinese tabloid Global Times accused the Canadian media of “hyping up” a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warship manoeuvre that reportedly “almost caused a crash” in controversial waters near Taiwan. In a joint Canada-US mission in the South China Sea, a Chinese warship suddenly cut in front of the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, Canada’s Global News reported from Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal on Saturday. Global News later uploaded a video showing the movement of the Chinese ship, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3222908/chinese-newspaper-accuses-canadian-press-hyping-pla-ships-very-scary-move-near-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3222908/chinese-newspaper-accuses-canadian-press-hyping-pla-ships-very-scary-move-near-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jun 2023 11:00:09 +0000 Seven of the world’s wealthiest nations aim to diversify supply chains away from China and protect critical advanced technologies but are not about to decouple from the world’s second-biggest economy, US President Joe Biden said on Sunday. Speaking at the end of the Group of Seven summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Biden said the G7 had a united position on China’s “economic coercion” – an accusation that Beijing denies. “We’re not looking to decouple from China. We’re looking to de-risk... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3221324/g7-summit-biden-hits-out-chinas-economic-coercion-says-thaw-ties-may-be-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3221324/g7-summit-biden-hits-out-chinas-economic-coercion-says-thaw-ties-may-be-way?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2023 13:31:03 +0000 Beijing has slammed former British prime minister Liz Truss’ high-profile visit to Taiwan as a “political show”, warning the United Kingdom of “serious consequences” as she called for closer military and economic ties with the self-ruled island. Truss, who arrived in Taiwan for a five-day trip on Tuesday, is the first former British leader to visit the island since Margaret Thatcher in 1996. The Chinese embassy in London slammed her visit as a “dangerous political show” that would escalate... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3220895/beijing-slams-taiwan-visit-britains-liz-truss-dangerous-political-show-designed-provoke-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3220895/beijing-slams-taiwan-visit-britains-liz-truss-dangerous-political-show-designed-provoke-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 May 2023 14:00:09 +0000 Liz Truss will visit Taiwan for five days next week, becoming the first former British prime minister to visit the self-ruled island in decades. With cross-strait tensions rising, Truss’ visit is certain to rile Beijing, which sees the island as its territory and has vowed to take it back, by force if necessary. It will also create a diplomatic headache for her successor, Rishi Sunak, who is seeking to re-engage Beijing after a period of strained relations, according to observers. Truss,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3220091/china-headache-or-help-rishi-sunak-former-british-pm-liz-truss-visit-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3220091/china-headache-or-help-rishi-sunak-former-british-pm-liz-truss-visit-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 May 2023 14:30:15 +0000 US doors are open, the US is waiting and it is up to Beijing to make the next move to improve relations, Washington’s senior diplomat in China said on Tuesday. Ambassador Nicholas Burns, a quarter-century veteran of the US State Department, spoke at a time when relations between the two nations have plummeted over trade, Taiwan, defence, human rights, politics and their very different visions of the global system, all marked by deep distrust. “We need better channels between the two governments... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3219187/us-ambassador-china-says-next-steps-improve-bilateral-relations-are-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3219187/us-ambassador-china-says-next-steps-improve-bilateral-relations-are-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 May 2023 19:32:24 +0000 The Russian invasion had just begun when Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Ukraine nearly a year ago, the House speaker then the highest-ranking elected US official to lead a congressional delegation to Kyiv. Pelosi and the lawmakers were ushered under the cloak of secrecy into the capital city, an undisclosed passage that even to this day she will not divulge. “It was very, it was dangerous”, Pelosi said before Sunday’s one-year anniversary of that trip. “We never feared about it, but we... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3218880/ukraine-democracy-must-win-nancy-pelosi-says-year-after-her-visit-war-torn-nation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3218880/ukraine-democracy-must-win-nancy-pelosi-says-year-after-her-visit-war-torn-nation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Apr 2023 16:12:36 +0000 The United States is allowing for more strategic ambiguity in its one-China policy as it seeks to deter Beijing over Taiwan, a move analysts said stirred anger by “eroding” the very principle that China has built its ties with the US on. In an interview with Chinese media last week, China’s former top envoy to the US, Cui Tiankai, accused Washington of changing the “status quo” on Taiwan by strengthening military and diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island, moves Cui said undermine the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3218480/us-eroding-one-china-policy-deter-beijing-over-taiwan-former-top-envoy-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3218480/us-eroding-one-china-policy-deter-beijing-over-taiwan-former-top-envoy-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:00:13 +0000 Hong Kong’s special status grants it “strategic ambiguities” to navigate the US-China rivalry, but it needs to do more to convince Washington’s power brokers that it retains autonomy in critical areas, the prominent China watcher Kishore Mahbubani has said. Speaking at a forum in Hong Kong, the retired Singaporean top diplomat addressed a wide range of issues, from the prospect of “de-dollarisation” of global trade to the tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Asked on how Hong Kong could best navigate... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3218330/hong-kong-has-strategic-ambiguities-navigate-us-china-rivalry-singapores-kishore-mahbubani?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3218330/hong-kong-has-strategic-ambiguities-navigate-us-china-rivalry-singapores-kishore-mahbubani?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Apr 2023 12:22:58 +0000 French President Emmanuel Macron touched a raw nerve in the United States and among many Europeans by insisting that the European Union should not get involved in any US-China escalation over Taiwan. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron said in a much-commented interview on his way back from Beijing last week. Macron’s remarks have been met by outrage and accusations of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217494/taiwan-europe-right-keep-its-one-china-policy-even-if-us-ditches-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217494/taiwan-europe-right-keep-its-one-china-policy-even-if-us-ditches-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Apr 2023 17:00:11 +0000 Much has changed in the global balance of power since the 1972 Shanghai Communique set in motion steps towards the normalisation of US-China relations. This relationship has since become the world’s most consequential. The steady US-China collaboration on trade, investment, manufacturing, science and technology, and academic, sport and cultural exchanges, in the past 50 years has yielded handsome dividends for both countries and the world. Yet, in recent years, relations have deteriorated... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216934/taiwan-question-beijing-not-us-resolve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216934/taiwan-question-beijing-not-us-resolve?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:00:23 +0000 Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen visited Guatemala and Belize late last month. The main purpose of her trip was not so much for these two Central American countries that still maintain formal official relations with Taiwan, but for an informal transit through New York and Los Angeles. Short of a direct visit to the United States and away from landing in Washington, Tsai’s seventh transit through the US since 2016 has nevertheless aroused great concern from the Chinese government. On Wednesday, she met... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216296/tsais-visit-underlines-increasingly-formal-relationship-between-us-and-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216296/tsais-visit-underlines-increasingly-formal-relationship-between-us-and-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Apr 2023 17:00:12 +0000 China’s military said on Saturday it is testing the PLA’s capabilities to “seize control of the sea, air and information” with a multi-day exercise around Taiwan days after the island’s president met the US House Speaker. Video and images published by state media showed that the exercise included a long range rocket unit from the Eastern Theatre Command, destroyers, frigates, missile boats, fighter jets, bombers and electronic warfare planes. The troops are conducting patrols “surrounding and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3216376/china-sets-military-drills-after-taiwan-leader-tsai-ing-wens-us-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3216376/china-sets-military-drills-after-taiwan-leader-tsai-ing-wens-us-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2023 17:39:53 +0000 China and the United States should resume in-person visits and exchanges immediately because limited contact has led to a dramatic deterioration in relations, two academics, one from each country, have urged in a report. The report published by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Friday focused on academic exchanges but also had recommendations for governments. The two authors – Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3216368/us-and-china-urged-boost-travel-and-exchanges-stop-further-fraying-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3216368/us-and-china-urged-boost-travel-and-exchanges-stop-further-fraying-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2023 15:00:12 +0000 Mainland China has retaliated with sanctions against two US bodies and their senior executives who hosted Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her stay in the United States, with Beijing claiming the Americans provided platforms and facilities for “Taiwan independence”. Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s representative in the United States, was also sanctioned for her role in Tsai’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The two institutions are the Hudson Institute, which hosted an event and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3216281/mainland-china-sanctions-us-and-taiwanese-institutes-and-individuals-retaliation-tsai-ing-wens-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3216281/mainland-china-sanctions-us-and-taiwanese-institutes-and-individuals-retaliation-tsai-ing-wens-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2023 05:16:56 +0000