By the Associated Press
January 15, 2017
BEIJING — President-elect Donald
Trump "speaks like a rookie," China's state-run media said Monday,
describing his suggested use of America's position on Taiwan as a bargaining
chip as "despicable."
The nationalist tabloid Global
Times published an editorial blasting Trump's strategy and saying China would
have a strong response to any reconsideration of the "one China"
policy. Since recognizing Beijing in 1979, Washington has maintained only
unofficial ties with Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing considers
its territory — a status quo that Trump has repeatedly threatened to upend
since winning the November election.
"In the past, Trump infuriated
us, but now we find him risible," said the newspaper, which is published
by the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece. "With a
skyrocketing ascent in his political life, he has been stunningly confident in
his ostensible knowledge of the job, though he speaks like a rookie."
The English-language China Daily
ran an editorial Monday accusing Trump of "playing with fire."
"If Trump is determined to use
this gambit on taking office, a period of fierce, damaging interactions will be
unavoidable, as Beijing will have no choice but to take off the gloves,"
the newspaper said.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal
in an interview published Friday that "everything is under negotiation,
including 'one China.'" It was the latest sign that Trump could shake up
the U.S.-China relationship, particularly on Taiwan, which China considers a
core national interest.
China's Foreign Ministry responded
with a statement Sunday saying the "one China" policy was
"non-negotiable."
"The government of the People's
Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing China,"
spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement. "That is the fact acknowledged by
the international community and no one can change it."
China was already angered by
Trump's Dec. 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the first time
an American president or president-elect has publicly spoken to Taiwan's leader
in nearly four decades. Beijing considers any reference to a separate Taiwanese
head of state to be a grave insult.
Trump then said in a television
interview that he didn't feel "bound by a one-China policy unless we make
a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."
On Sunday, Reince Priebus, Trump's
incoming chief of staff, said that "there are no plans to change the
one-China policy."
"But certainly that policy is
on the table if China doesn't also come to the table and work with us on trade,
work with us on the South China Sea and what's happening there," Priebus
said on ABC's "This Week."
After attacking China repeatedly
during his campaign, Trump has continued to disparage China on his Twitter
account over its military buildup in disputed areas of the South China Sea,
allegedly manipulating its currency to put American companies at a disadvantage,
and not doing enough to curb North Korea's nuclear program. He has also
announced that a new White House trade council will be led by economist Peter
Navarro, a sharp critic of Chinese economic policy who wrote a book titled
"Death By China."
Trump told the Journal that he
would not label China a currency manipulator as soon as he takes office, though
he repeated his contention that China is manipulating the yuan.
So far, Beijing has reiterated its
refusal to negotiate on Taiwan and to push for positive cooperation between the
two sides, though state-run media have run several strongly worded editorials
attacking Trump.
Chinese political observers said
Sunday that they expect Beijing's response to change once Trump is inaugurated
next week.
"Trump has not taken office
yet, so he is an ordinary person now," said Shen Dingli, a professor of
international relations at Fudan University. "Therefore, there's no need
for China to take his remarks seriously or further respond to what he
said."
No comments:
Post a Comment