Photo by MikeRussia (MikeRussia) via Wikimedia Commons shows a sunset scene on the South China Sea off Mũi Né village on the south-east coast of Vietnam
Days after upsetting Beijing with a telephonic conversation with Taiwanese leader – in a departure from One-China policy – President-elect Donald Trump has called improvement in US-China relations.
“One of the most important relationships we must improve, and we have to improve, is our relationship with China,” Trump said.
The statement is the latest in mixed signals Trump has been sending to China, the world’s largest economy and one of Washington’s key trading partners.
Trump has been critical of China, a country with which the United States has a trade deficit of $ 500 billion, and his conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has been seen as signaling a tough line on the major emerging power.
Beijing has responded by flying a long-range nuclear-capable bomber outside China for the first time since Trump’s election in November 8 vote.
China considers Taiwan a wayward province and since President Jimmy Carter’s adoption of a “one-China” policy in 1979, successive US presidents have avoided contacting the Taiwanese leaders.
On Thursday, the president-elect also criticized China for not helping Washington resolve its issues with North Korea.
“You have the massive theft of intellectual property, putting unfair taxes on our companies, not helping with the menace of North Korea like they should, and the at-will and massive devaluation of their currency and product dumping,” Trump said of China. “Other than that, they’ve been wonderful, right?”
However, a majority of analysts don’t see a major shake-up in the high-stakes relationship.
For example, Trump’s choice of US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, has been welcomed in both countries.
But Trump raised concerns on the campaign trail, when he threatened to rein in China politically and economically, proposing to levy 45-percent tariffs on imported Chinese goods and labeling Beijing a currency manipulator on his first day in the White House as president.
Trump, who does not want to appear to be a traditional leader, has also vowed to boost the US Navy presence in South China Sea in an apparent move to reassure China’s rivals of Washington’s support.
As with other international issues, Trump’s approach to US-China relations would be closely watched when he moves into the White House on January 20, 2016.
