KMT lawmaker says anti-China card has lost effectiveness — Taipei Times

In Taiwan, Kuomintang legislator Lee Yen-hsiu said that after the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the anti-China card shared by Washington and Taipei had lost its effectiveness. This was reported by Taipei Times.

Xi Jinping, together with his wife Peng Liyuan, concluded a three-day state visit to the United States on Friday. During the trip, he held his second in-person meeting with Trump this year, following the summit in Beijing in May.

Positions on Taiwan

According to Lee, the Taiwan issue remains China’s top priority. She noted that Xi expressed hope to Trump that Washington would oppose Taiwan’s independence and take a cautious approach to the Taiwan issue. At the same time, the US State Department said that American policy toward Taiwan had not changed.

The legislator also said that Washington understands Taiwan’s significance as an issue of China’s core interests, while the Taiwan issue remains an important negotiating tool for Trump. In her view, the State Department’s statement supported the domestic political messaging of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, but the scale of Trump and Xi’s negotiations weakened the effectiveness of the anti-China card.

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Calls for a pragmatic approach

Lee Yen-hsiu believes that Taiwan’s role in US-China relations will depend on further US arms sales to Taipei, the level of official contacts between Taipei and Washington, and the resumption of transit diplomacy. She named trade and economic ties, security, and international space as Taiwan’s key interests.

The legislator called on the Democratic Progressive Party to focus on preferences regarding chip tariffs, the uninterrupted approval and delivery of US weapons, and the restoration of Taiwan’s international presence.

In her view, the two meetings between Trump and Xi this year demonstrated the transition of the United States and China toward constructively stable strategic relations. Lee also said that the agreement to establish official dialogue mechanisms on artificial intelligence, including crisis alert systems and hotlines, is of major importance.