Miles Yu: Xi Jinping Has No Intention of Solving US-China Issues, Uses Taiwan as a Shield

(Washington, 18th, CNA) With the Trump-Xi summit concluded, Miles Yu, a key advisor on China policy for the Trump 1.0 administration, analyzed for CNA today that the U.S. hoped to use the opportunity to resolve specific issues like trade, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had no intention of doing so, which is why Xi Jinping and Trump talked extensively about the Taiwan issue. Yu also said he hopes to see a call between U.S. and Taiwanese leaders, allowing Trump to hear Taiwan's perspective directly. U.S. President Donald Trump visited China last week and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. After the meeting, he stated that he and Xi 'talked a lot about Taiwan' and that he made no commitments on the issue. Trump also said they discussed arms sales, and he would make a decision on that soon. Furthermore, Trump said he considers the pending arms sales to Taiwan to be 'good bargaining chips.' He also said he does not want to see Taiwan move towards independence but wants to maintain the status quo, and that both China and Taiwan should de-escalate the situation; U.S. policy has not changed. Miles Yu, a key advisor on China policy for Trump 1.0 and current director of the Hudson Institute's China Center, told reporters in a phone interview that Trump's main goal for this visit was to 'maintain the so-called Cold War climate and prevent it from becoming a hot war.' Trump went to Beijing to meet Xi in hopes of establishing communication mechanisms for peaceful confrontation, not war. He analyzed that the U.S. also presented many lists, hoping to resolve specific issues including joint management of artificial intelligence, trade, and fentanyl, but the CCP did not want to solve specific problems, so Xi Jinping spent a lot of time talking with Trump about the Taiwan issue as a 'shield.' Regarding Trump's comment that he would talk with 'the people who govern Taiwan,' Yu believes that if it happens, it would be a major breakthrough, and Trump's statement is also a form of 'shock' to Xi Jinping. Yu also said he hopes to see a call between Trump and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, as it might not be right for Trump to only hear Xi's side of the story, because the tension in the Taiwan Strait 'is not created by Taiwan at all, but by the CCP.' Trump's remarks on Taiwan after the summit have drawn attention. Regarding U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Yu pointed out that the initiative is in Trump's hands, and the fundamental bottom line is that the U.S. wants to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and is firmly opposed to changing the status quo by force. As for Trump and Xi discussing arms sales to Taiwan, Yu believes this is a tactical move by Trump, but fundamentally, the bottom line of U.S. policy towards Taiwan has not changed. He noted that Trump sometimes says things that differ from others' thoughts and expectations, 'but everyone must grasp the bottom line,' which is that from his first term to the current one, the amount, scope, and even level of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan 'are unprecedented.' However, other scholars hold different views. Patricia Kim, a U.S.-China relations expert at the Brookings Institution, said in an interview that Trump's public treatment of the next wave of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China is 'worrying.' It not only sends the wrong signal to Beijing and Taipei but also makes other U.S. allies and partners wonder 'if the U.S. will use their security as a bargaining chip on the negotiating table with China in the future.' Zack Cooper, a senior fellow and Asia security expert at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), also said that some of Trump's actions are giving Beijing more opportunities to damage the relationship between Taipei and Washington.