Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, met with the Taiwanese opposition leader last week and said he hoped for better relations with the island in the future, but said it should be noted that the fate of Taiwan will not change because the unification with the mainland is a “historical inevitability.”
Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, won a snap election on Sunday, drawing praise from the Trump administration because of her hawkish approach to China.
December marked a turnaround in the manufacturing economies of China, South Korea, and Taiwan following several months of decline.
President Donald Trump approved an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan last week, which was embraced by the China hawks in Washington who see it as evidence that the administration will maintain the U.S.’s longstanding tradition of provoking Beijing in its sphere of influence.
Artificial intelligence fever has swept Taiwan, lifting the island nation’s GDP by 8 percent in this year’s third quarter. However, that growth has overshadowed the country’s larger economic weakness.
Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, said last week that he will seek an additional $40 billion in military spending—on top of its regular military budget—to improve its defenses in the event of an invasion by China.
t didn’t take Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to anger Beijing.
Taipei is looking to upgrade its missile defense systems as part of its new military spending as it considers the threat of a Chinese invasion.
Factory output contracted around the world in September as U.S. economic activity slowed, demand in China weakened, and the ongoing U.S. tariff war made customers hesitate to buy, Reuters reported.
China is intent on sending U.S. President Donald Trump a clear message that the days of Washington bullying Beijing and interfering with its regional aspirations are over.