As the U.S. and Chinese leaders, who came to Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, are set to meet on the morning of the 30th, China is ratcheting up pressure on Taiwan day after day. Analysts say that while the U.S.-China summit is partly for a trade deal, it also likely aims to weaken the linkage between Taiwan and the United States.
According to Xinhua and other local outlets on the 30th, China has issued a series of unification pressure messages toward Taiwan ahead of the U.S.-China summit. Spokesperson Feng Qing'en of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the China State Council said at a briefing the previous day that peaceful unification under the "one country, two systems" model is the fundamental approach to resolving the Taiwan issue. Feng said, "We are willing to create ample room for peaceful unification and will make our utmost sincere efforts toward that," but added, "We will never renounce the use of force and will retain the option to take all necessary measures."
State-run Xinhua recently ran a pen-name article asserting that "unification benefits Taiwan." The logic is that if unification occurs, budget items such as the defense spending Taiwan currently bears could be used for the livelihoods and welfare of Taiwan compatriots. The article argued that even after unification, Taiwan could safeguard its current rights through autonomy. It also said, "If goods circulate across the strait without obstacles, consumer prices in Taiwan will fall, it will become easier for Taiwan compatriots to travel to and from the mainland, and opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship will increase." The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) speculated that the article was likely written at the level of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council or the Taiwan Work Office under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Foreign media said the ultimate goal of President Xi Jinping's attendance at APEC and the U.S.-China summit is likely "pressure on Taiwan." On the 28th (local time), the New York Times (NYT) reported, "Xi hopes to hear clearly from President Trump that 'the United States does not support Taiwan independence,'" adding, "While this has been the official position of previous U.S. administrations, China wants President Trump to state it explicitly himself."
China has long accused the United States of egging on Taiwan independence. That is because the United States is Taiwan's biggest military and diplomatic backer. Early this year, when the U.S. State Department deleted the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" from its Taiwan-related web page, the Chinese side lodged a strong protest.
Meanwhile, exchanges between the United States and Taiwan have gradually shrunk since President Trump took office. While the first Trump administration actively supported Taiwan, since the launch of the second term, Washington appears to be accommodating China's demands on Taiwan as much as possible to minimize friction with Beijing.
President Trump raised semiconductor and defense spending issues to directly pressure Taiwan, and in July U.S. authorities barred Taiwan President Lai Ching-te from transiting through New York on a trip to Central and South America. Dialogue between U.S. and Taiwan defense authorities has also been downgraded. Taiwan experts in the United States have expressed concern that President Trump might abandon Taiwan. This has strengthened claims that China will seize the moment to close ranks with the United States and apply heavy pressure on Taiwan. With President Trump overturning earlier remarks by officials and saying directly that the Taiwan issue will be discussed at this U.S.-China summit, China's pressure on Taiwan is expected to intensify after the summit.
David Sacks, an Asia fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), told the NYT, "China will first seek a truce in the trade war with the United States and ease tensions, then open up the bigger geopolitical issue," adding, "At the center of that is Taiwan."