‘MUTUAL DOWNPLAY’:National Chengchi University researcher Yen Chen-shen said that the summit in Florida with Xi Jinping would be nothing more than a ‘friendly chat’
Taipei Times
Date: Apr 07, 2017
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Academics said that Taiwanese should not be “too worried” that the nation might be a
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his wife, Peng Liyan, are escorted by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, second left, ahead of a dinner at the Presidential Castle in Helsinki, Finland, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
focus at a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, yesterday and today, because Taiwan would be eclipsed by North Korea and US-China trade issues.
Trump’s meetings with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Xi’s visit to Finland this week show that both sides are seeking to downplay the importance of the Trump-Xi meeting, National Chengchi University Institute of International Relations researcher Yen Chen-shen (嚴震生) said.
A speech in Finland by Xi on free trade was in stark contrast to the economic protectionism prevalent in the US, Yen said, adding that Xi seems to be trying to balance Beijing’s ties with Europe. [FULL STORY]