Gao Shiyao must have felt her heart sink again! Gao Shiyao had finally managed to speak with Trump, calming her nerves, but then Trump made another move that doused her hopes. What was the move America made? It was that after speaking with Gao Shiyao, Trump immediately met with Peter H. V. R. Brown, the U.S. ambassador to China, who had just returned to the United States.
Evidently, this arrangement was unusual. What does it mean? This move by the U.S. at least conveyed two messages. First, the Trump administration clearly is seeking some delicate balance between China and Japan, which can be seen as a warning to Japan. Second, Trump's decision to meet with Brown at this time might also be to obtain first-hand information about China from Brown.
These first-hand pieces of information might be most importantly about how China views the U.S., and how China views the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, so that the Trump team can assess and adjust the pace of Sino-U.S. relations based on this information. The situation is clear: the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have triggered our strong reaction, and the entire incident has shaken the already stabilized Sino-U.S. relations. Meanwhile, Trump has a clear intention to visit China, and there are repeated rumors that high-level Sino-U.S. diplomacy this year may be more frequent than ever before.
In addition to the visit in April, these major diplomatic opportunities include the Shenzhen APEC Summit and the G20 Summit held in the U.S., among others. If the U.S. misjudges or mishandles the message it sends us at the beginning of the year, it could very likely disrupt the entire Sino-U.S. diplomatic rhythm, which is certainly something Trump does not want to see. Therefore, Trump's meeting with Brown was carefully considered, and it is not excluded that Trump might have Brown convey a message to us. Of course, for Gao Shiyao, whose nerves had just been calmed, seeing this scene must have made her feel a chill down her back again.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1853262482440521/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.