Recently, the so-called US-Taiwan "21st Century Trade Initiative" second phase of negotiations is about to begin, and Zhu Fenglian of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council issued a warning about this.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council spoke out on the US-Taiwan trade initiative
According to the global network, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council held a regular press conference, and spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian replied to reporters' questions on cross-strait hot issues.
A reporter mentioned that with regard to the second phase of the US-Taiwan so-called "21 st Century Trade Initiative" talks, the Taiwan side said that this could expand the opportunities for Taiwan's agricultural products to be sold to the United States.
Zhu Fenglian replied: To sum up, there are two meanings: First, she opposes any agreement between the United States and the Taiwan region that has sovereignty implications or is of an official nature. This point is very simple, Taiwan belongs to China, and the United States is not qualified to bypass China for direct dialogue with Taiwan.
[Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council]
Second, it opposes the DPP's willingness to sacrifice the interests of enterprises and people on the island in order to pursue political interests.
As long as the United States makes a statement and allows the DPP to "sell" Taiwan, it will be willing to completely ignore the interests of the Taiwan people, and this move will certainly be unpopular.
Here it is necessary to explain the so-called "21st Century Trade Initiative" between the United States and Taiwan.
It is a trade cooperation framework jointly proposed by the United States and Taiwan, which Taiwan believes aims to deepen economic ties between the two sides, improve trade facilitation, advance trade priorities based on shared values, and promote innovative and inclusive economic growth on both sides.
It is reported that the agreement covers a number of key areas, such as trade facilitation, small and medium-sized enterprise cooperation, agricultural trade and so on.
[The United States and Taiwan signed the so-called "21st Century Trade Initiative"]
But is this initiative really that simple?
Is the "US-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative" really that simple?
In fact, in the final analysis, this initiative is a move made by the United States based on geopolitical considerations.
In particular, in the context of cross-strait tensions, it has demonstrated support for Taiwan by strengthening economic ties with Taiwan, and to a certain extent, reflects the strategic layout of the United States for economic integration and supply chain security in the Indo-Pacific region.
In addition, the United States can also use this to achieve "economic containment" against China.
But for Taiwan, this is not a good thing.
Last year, the "US-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative" was signed into law, and the Taiwan authorities said it would help attract foreign investment and increase trade opportunities.
But if you look closely, you'll see the clues.
【U.S. Agriculture】
The so-called economic and trade negotiations have hardly touched on key issues such as tariffs on commodities and market access to commodities.
There is also a significant asymmetry in the protocol.
Taiwan will open up more imports of American products, and also simplify some of the processes for American companies to export to Taiwan, but the United States has not opened more markets and relaxed market access to Taiwan.
Moreover, due to the huge disparity in size and scale between the United States and Taiwan, the United States obviously has obvious advantages in exporting mainly meat, corn, and wheat to Taiwan's agriculture.
Previously, Taiwan suffered losses in this regard, signing an economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand, which hit Taiwan's local fresh milk industry.
If Taiwan opens up more markets this time, the local industry may be hit harder.
It is difficult for the Taiwan authorities to say "no" to the United States
Therefore, judging from the actual situation, it is very difficult for the Taiwan region to bargain for so-called cooperation with the United States, let alone strengthen its economic strength and promote trade with the United States.
[Democratic Progressive Party leader Tsai Ing-wen]
During the negotiation of this project, Taiwan has always played a role of accommodation and submissiveness. The process and outcome of the negotiations fully reflected the "America First" strategy, and the topics and contents of the discussions basically revolved around the needs of the United States. Basically, the Taiwan side fully accepted the US demands.
It is difficult for Taiwan to say "no" to the United States, and even to show so-called loyalty at every opportunity.
In areas where Taiwan is "leading", such as semiconductors, the United States has shown special attention and intends to deepen "cooperation" between the two sides.
In addition, US arms sales to Taiwan have also continued this "priority level." The United States promised to give Taiwan an advanced air defense system, and in the end, it only gave Taiwan the gray and expired weapons that were released from the bottom of the pressure box.
In general, behind the actions of the United States against Taiwan, there is a hidden political purpose, which represents a new trend of the United States imposing an "economic blockade" against China.
At the same time, this move by the United States is also to continue to "squeeze benefits" from Taiwan.
And the DPP uses the so-called "cooperation" with the United States as a "plus" to deceive voters in order to win votes.
On the other hand, the DPP does not mention the mainland's real policy of benefiting Taiwan.
Taiwan has benefited handsomely from the mainland's trade surplus and has enjoyed substantial tariff reductions through the ECFA. Despite this, the Taiwan authorities have not been grateful for the preferential treatment given by the mainland, but have continued to make progress in a direction that we do not want to see.
The DPP authorities have ignored the mainland's sincerity and moved closer to the United States to seek a "reward" from the United States, which is obviously not a "wise" choice.
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