02 July, 2017
On Thursday, the Trump administration announced plans to go ahead with a $1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, a move which has angered Beijing, which still considers the island a rogue province and part of mainland China.
The weapons sale, announced by Washington on Thursday, requires congressional approval, and comes two years after President Barack Obama announced a $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
One prominent hedge fund manager and bear on China said Friday that this week's developments in USA and Chinese relations signify a "tectonic shift".
The US State Department has defended the deal, saying it will have no ramifications for Washington's stance towards Beijing.
"The United States has been doing defense sales with Taiwan for 50 years or so".
Trump and Xi had previously enjoyed an unusually cordial relationship since their first February meeting in Florida, with the United States president describing Xi as a "terrific person" with whom he had a "very good relationship".
The Journal says that "if ratified by Congress, the new policy would roll back almost 40 years of USA deference to China".
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a press briefing that Beijing has lodged a formal protest with Washington and urged the USA government to "uphold its solemn commitment to the One-China principle".
The spokesman urged Washington to immediately stop such activities, as it negatively impacts the cooperation between the two countries in a number of important spheres. He did not elaborate. "There's no change, I should point out, to our "one-China" policy".
"We hope that the United States will be able to correct their mistaken actions to bring sino-us relations are on the right path to a strong development and stable", said Friday, Lu Kang, a spokesperson for the chinese ministry of foreign Affairs, at a press briefing scheduled. "It's a question of how much the two countries will be able to manage these conflicts, whether they can manage them better than the previous administration". "The Chinese leadership will wonder if the Trump administration will sanction a medium-sized Chinese bank next", he said".
"How does the Chinese government view Trump?"
Expressing her thanks for all those who were involved in the reforms, Tsai said they helped Taiwan achieve something remarkable.
Just after winning election, Trump infuriated Beijing by accepting a congratulatory call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, but once in office the president unequivocally endorsed the "One China" policy during a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
"The U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan is routine", said Shen.
Still, the risks around Taiwan are profound.
"It's now valued about $1.42 billion", State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
The sale also came at a particular testing time.
Taiwanese officials indicated they would pursue the USA arms package. "Although the atmosphere was very good, there were still real problems there", Shi said, referring to the Florida summit.
"This is a most ridiculous argument", Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the US said. "Trump has no patience, and nobody can be surprised that he's pushed certain issues to the fore".
