A complex set of interactions are fueling tensions.

The Diplomat
Date: September 02, 2018
By: Bonji Ohara

Tensions over Taiwan are mounting between the U.S. and China. On July 7, 2018, two U.S. Navy destroyers passed through the Taiwan Strait, provoking fierce protests from the Chinese. However, neither U.S. President Donald J. Trump nor Chinese President Xi Jinping are looking to start a war.

Trump’s attention is limited to U.S. national interests. He avoids involvement in overseas events that do not affect the U.S., instead preferring to direct his strength to shoring up and expanding the nation’s economic interests. And Trump sees China as the single biggest factor standing in the way of U.S. prosperity.

China, meanwhile, is looking out for its own economic interests. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China needs to deliver economic development to prevent discontent from building up in Chinese society, and to this end is intent on designing international rules on its own terms. Those intentions have been on full display with China acting as if it were the standard-bearer for free trade at events such as the Belt and Road Initiative summit in May 2017. Xi’s Made in China 2025 concept has also ramped up the sense of impending danger for U.S. firms. This is because the ten key areas China has identified, among which are next-generation information technologies, are the same areas American companies must target to expand their businesses and generate profits in the future.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.China is also engaged in a military buildup it sees as necessary to protect its external economic activities, adding further fuel to tensions. Under this climate, the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that was signed into law on August 13 increased defense spending to $717 billion in an effort to rebuild the U.S. military, laying bare the sense of threat that China poses.    [FULL  STORY]