On October 31, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with US Secretary of State Blinken in Rome, which received widespread attention from all parties. Wang Yi pointed out that the Taiwan issue is the most sensitive issue between China and the United States, and once it is mishandled, it will cause subversive and overall damage to Sino-US relations. Wang Yi demanded that the US side pursue a real one-China policy and truly implement the one-China policy into action, rather than saying one set and doing one thing. Blinken reiterated that the United States will continue to adhere to the one-China policy. Blinken's words are now estimated that no one dares to believe them. In addition to this incident, there are three other major events on October 31 that deserve our attention.
The first thing was that Chinese and US military planes "engaged in air confrontation" in the Taiwan Strait. On October 31, according to media reports on the island, PLA military aircraft entered the "airspace" of southwest Taiwan for four times on the same day. It is worth mentioning that the PLA Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft also staggered with the US military aircraft E-8C "United Star" command plane on the same day in the Bashi Strait at the southern tip of Taiwan, which Taiwan media said was an "air confrontation." It is reported that the U.S. military's E-8C "United Star" command aircraft is used to specifically monitor the air combat management and command control on the ground.
On the morning of the same day, the E-8C "United Star" command plane traveled to the South China Sea through the Bashi Strait at the southern tip of Taiwan, staggering in the air with the Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft that was in the Bashi Strait at the time. According to the report, the Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft flew at an altitude of 5,000 meters at that time. According to data released by Taiwan's defense department, PLA military aircraft have entered Taiwan's "airspace" for a total of 185 days this year, compared with 20 days this month, with a total of 188 sorties. Zhang Chunhui, spokesman for the Eastern Theater, previously said that it is completely legitimate and legal for the Chinese army to cruise in the Taiwan Strait for combat readiness.
The second thing is that the US nuclear reconnaissance plane appeared in the South China Sea. U.S. warships and aircraft have become very common in the South China Sea, but the U.S. military is now operating more and more frequently, and the ships and military aircraft operating in the South China Sea are becoming more and more advanced, including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. According to the "South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness" think tank released on October 31, the US nuclear military aircraft also came to the South China Sea. In the morning, the US Air Force had a total of five military aircraft operating in the South China Sea, including one WC-135W nuclear reconnaissance aircraft.
It is understood that the WC-135W nuclear reconnaissance aircraft can collect radioactive particles in the atmosphere, and the number of activities in the South China Sea is very small, which can be described as "rare", and the last time it came to the South China Sea was in January 2020. At a very sensitive moment in the Taiwan Strait, the US military went so far as to send a nuclear reconnaissance plane to the South China Sea, which would only lead to more tension in the regional situation. It is reported that in addition to the WC-135W nuclear reconnaissance aircraft, the US military aircraft that appeared in the South China Sea also included 1 E-8C air-to-ground surveillance air-to-ground surveillance aircraft, 2 P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the US Navy, and 1 EP-3E electronic reconnaissance aircraft.
When it comes to the US military dispatching nuclear reconnaissance aircraft, it is necessary to mention the Biden administration's nuclear weapons use policy. According to media reports, the Biden administration intends to adjust the US nuclear weapons use policy and intends to promise "no first use of nuclear weapons", but it has been opposed by Allies such as Japan, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, who are lobbying Biden not to make this decision, otherwise it will undermine the nuclear deterrence strategy against China and Russia.
Third, the Biden administration reached an agreement with EU officials at the G20 summit to cancel some of the tariffs trump imposed on steel and aluminum 3 years ago, and the two sides achieved reconciliation in this regard. In 2018, then-US President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports from the European Union and China and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum on national security grounds. After the introduction of this policy, European steel and aluminum exports to the United States fell by 1/3, and Europe was previously able to export about 3.2 million tons per year.
It is reported that after the new agreement is reached, the EU can export 3.3 million tons of duty-free steel to the United States every year. If licensed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the tax exemption will be increased by another 1 million tons. The United States and the European Union reached this agreement against China. U.S. Trade Representative Dai Qi said the agreement strengthens the regulatory system and can prevent steel and aluminum from Entering the U.S. market from China and other "unfair competition." U.S. officials also said they would guarantee that all steel imports from Europe were produced on the continent. In return, the European Union will cut tariffs on a wide range of U.S. goods by 50 percent on Dec. 1.