In retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan earlier in the week, the Chinese government announced on Friday that it would be canceling or suspending talks with the US on a variety of topics, including climate change, military relations, and anti-drug initiatives.
Beijing’s decision avoided disrupting economic and trade negotiations, where it is relying on Biden to remove tariffs imposed on imports from China by President Donald Trump. However, it dashes hopes for a significant improvement in relations and increases the likelihood that there will be further misunderstandings, which might trigger a more serious crisis.
China’s Foreign Ministry announced that discussions on military maritime safety as well as interaction between American and Chinese regional commanders and defense department chiefs will be terminated. The government announced that cooperation on the repatriation of unauthorized immigrants, criminal investigations, international crime, illegal substances, and climate change will be halted.
The Chinese government’s moves come ahead of a crucial Communist Party convention later this year, at which President Xi Jinping is anticipated to win re-election to a third five-year term as party chief. The party has fostered nationalism and launched nearly daily attacks on Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-administration, wen’s which refuses to acknowledge Taiwan as a part of China, as a result of the economy’s collapse.
Beijing also said that it will impose purely symbolic measures against the speaker and her family in retaliation for the roughly 19-hour stay in Taiwan.
As she ended off her tour of Asia on Friday, Pelosi skirted the subject of US-China ties by criticizing Beijing’s human rights record and then admonishing the US to cooperate with its giant competitor.
China reported on Friday that more than 100 airplanes and 10 vessels had participated in the two days of live-fire military maneuvers conducted around Taiwan. Experts predict that the drills, which are scheduled to go through Sunday, might result in Beijing making and enforcing new territorial claims.
The Chinese drills have allegedly interrupted important international trade lines via the Taiwan Strait in addition to raising fears throughout the world about a possible conflict over Taiwan.
