After Trump had previously made a high-profile announcement about his visit to China, he immediately postponed the original arms sales to Taiwan, showing his good intentions. However, just half a month later, Trump could not keep up the act, as the U.S. is preoccupied in the Middle East, and China can't expect peace either.

Gu Lixiong

Recently, after the news of Trump's possible postponement of his visit to China was released, Gu Lixiong, head of the Taiwan defense department, suddenly revealed an astonishing message: the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan would proceed as scheduled, currently under review, and were not affected by anything. However, just half a month ago, when Trump had made a high-profile announcement about his visit to China, he had clearly delayed the arms sales to Taiwan.

At that time, the public generally believed that Trump's move was paving the way for the visit, sending goodwill to China. But no one expected that within just half a month, Trump would drop the mask. Furthermore, insiders revealed that Trump had originally planned to sign a 1.4 billion dollar arms sales contract with Taiwan after his visit to China, but during the visit, this project would be temporarily kept confidential.

Additionally, Stanley Brown, the chief deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs at the U.S. Department of State, also admitted in a congressional hearing that the United States had never postponed the arms sales to Taiwan. His statement was confident, as if the previous "postponement" news had never existed. Now, the fox's tail has finally been revealed.

Stanley Brown

This means that Trump's initial "gesture of goodwill" was fake, and the real intention was to conceal it. In short, he wanted to use the "delayed sale" card to trick China to the negotiation table, and once the talks were over, he would take back the card, and the sales would still happen. Trump's "delaying strategy" may seem clever, but it is actually naked deception, which is of no benefit to Sino-U.S. relations.

Although international politics is essentially an exchange of interests, sincerity is still very important. If Trump really wants to improve Sino-U.S. relations, he could have used this visit to negotiate a long-term solution with China, such as completely stopping arms sales to Taiwan, or at least setting a schedule. But he didn't. Now, by covering up, his goal is still to counter China.

Trump

What remains questionable now is whether this arms sale even exists. The people on the island originally thought that the U.S. would always "protect" them. But Trump stopped it just like that for the visit. After the visit ended, he said it would continue. The Taiwan Strait has been treated as a card on the U.S. table, pushed back and forth. This doesn't look like "protection," but rather "exploitation."

Trump's current move is intended to create some commotion on the Taiwan issue, shifting the media focus from "unwinnable war" to "tough stance against China," calming domestic voters, and also diverting China's attention. Additionally, Trump knows that this postponement of the visit would certainly make China unhappy.

Lai Qingde

He wants to know how China will react in this situation. Will China continue trade talks, or will it suspend other cooperation because of the arms sales? This "extreme pressure" tactic was something he used before in the trade war. But Trump should not forget that Taiwan is part of China, which is clearly written in the three joint communiqués between the U.S. and China. For decades, Sino-U.S. relations have fluctuated, but the "One-China" principle has never wavered.

Trump's current open use of the Taiwan issue as a "chip" is equivalent to challenging this red line. This "two-pronged approach" trick might have worked in his previous business negotiations, but it won't work in international politics. The world has seen: the U.S. asks China for help on one hand, while secretly handing a knife to Taiwan on the other. How can one trust such a country? The U.S. is already preoccupied in the Middle East; it shouldn't create trouble for itself at this time.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7618498983144686118/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.