US, Taiwan set to rile China with new trade pact; PRC-backed hackers hit US networks in Guam & PNG, US sign security deal to counter China in Pacific -- China Boss News 5.29.23
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US, Taiwan set to rile China with new trade pact
The US and Taiwan are "draw[ing] closer" to a "new trade pact," and China is none too pleased about it, CNN analysts report.
The two sides earlier this month concluded the first phase of negotiations, and trade officials are currently hashing out “the remaining seven areas of the deal.” A signing ceremony will take place “in the coming weeks,” news staff said, citing a statement from the US Trade Representative (USTR) Office.
CNN:
The new initiative, titled the US-Taiwan Initiative of 21st Century Trade and unveiled in June last year, will be the first official trade agreement between Taiwan and the United States since US President Joe Biden assumed office in 2021.
It covers areas including trade facilitation, regulatory practices, services domestic regulation, anti-corruption and supporting small and medium sized enterprises, a statement from the US Trade Representative (USTR) Office said.
Beijing is vexed with the progress of US-Taiwan trade talks, and the news that negotiators are drawing closer to an end “clouds prospects” for a geopolitical detente with Washington, Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg:
The agreement was announced hours after the Chinese embassy in Washington said Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao is scheduled to meet [the following] week with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meeting in Detroit.
The planned meetings with Wang come after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan sat down with China’s top diplomat for two days of talks earlier this month as the two countries sought to ease tensions.
“The question is the extent to which this will irritate the Chinese, and what will they do about it,” said Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration and now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Beijing “accused Washington of jeopardizing peace” after the talks began last year, according to the Associated Press. It sees the initiative as an "attempt to play the 'Taiwan card' and prevent China's unification and national rejuvenation," CNN said, citing Chinese officials.
International Republican Institute advisor J. Michael Cole told CNN that a trade pact with Taipei “very much sends a signal of recognition that Taiwan is an important ally to the United States.”
“Taking the lead in signing a trade agreement with Taiwan and bolstering its economy also sets the tone for other countries to potentially explore the possibility of signing their own agreements with Taiwan as well,” he added.
Some experts even think the deal could "boost" Taiwan's efforts to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a major free-trade agreement with 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.
China also seeks to join the CPTPP and will likely lobby against Taipei’s inclusion.
CNN:
Kristy Hsu, a director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution of Economic Research, said the US-Taiwan agreement would “create a more efficient and transparent business environment for companies from the two sides.”
“It proves to the international world that if Taiwan is able to engage in such a high-quality initiative with the US, that means our commitment to transparency and trade facilitation should have no question,” she said.
For the rest of CNN’s update, US and Taiwan draw closer with new trade pact opposed by China | CNN, click here. For Bloomberg’s report, US, Taiwan Agree to Lift Trade, Clouding Planned China Talks, click here. For USTR’s May 18th announcement, USTR Announcement Regarding U.S.-Taiwan Trade Initiative, click here.
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