The United States and Taiwan on Thursday announced the formal start of bilateral trade deal negotiations, aiming to strengthen their already important economic ties. The announcement follows a return visit to the island by a US Congressional delegation in a few days and that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a few weeks, which had provoked a strong reaction from China and a long series of Chinese military exercises around Taiwan. .
In fact, the United States does not officially recognize Taiwan, but maintains solid unofficial diplomatic ties that have become one of the main sources of tension with the Chinese government. China, for its part, claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
The United States-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Program was first announced in June, and now the two countries have confirmed formal approval and plan to start negotiations in early fall. China had previously said it was “firmly” opposed to the talks, which Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said “run the risk of sending the wrong message to Taiwanese separatists.”
The talks are another sign of US support for Taiwan, whose chief negotiator, John Deng, added that “economic coercion from China” will be an issue. On the US side, there is talk of an “ambitious plan that will bring significant economic results”: trading concessions, digital trading tools and anti-corruption standards are being defined. The trade volume between the two sides was US$106 billion in 2020.