Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan could cause US-China relations to “fall off a cliff,” per Global Times
China will be pleased if Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker of the House, continues with Taiwan’s August visit. “strategic level provocation”That would improve relations with the US “off a cliff,”Global Times reported in harsh editorials this week that the newspaper Global Times had cited several government officials and experts. China’s Foreign Ministry already stated the Chinese visit would be a “grave impact”You will also be violating the agreements between Washington, Beijing.
Although neither Taipei or Pelosi have officially confirmed that Taipei will be visiting Taiwan, Financial Times reports that Taiwan’s 82-year old speaker would travel with a delegation of congressional members to Taiwan in the next month. “six people familiar with the situation.” Her previously rumored visit, in April, did not take place – ostensibly due to Pelosi contracting Covid-19.
Global Times is told that Chinese experts believe she will go ahead with her visit if this happens. They also said it would constitute a provocation, prompting Beijing’s military response. “hard”The consequences of the US’s already fragile economy.
“China needs to make its determination clear and show its strengths, and let the US side decide to avoid [a] crisis and ensure a relatively stable situation, or make the turbulent world more chaotic,”Notification of the outlet
An additional, unsigned Global Times editorial warned that “if Pelosi really visits Taiwan, she would be included in China’s sanctions list,”Her family’s wealth would be “frozen immediately.”
Global Times noted that this wouldn’t be the first visit by a House speaker to Taiwan, as Newt Gingrich did so in 1997. However, he was a Republican in opposition to President Bill Clinton’s government, which had shown “sincerity and made efforts to fix ties with China”Following the 1996 earthquake, the island was stabilized. Today, “Pelosi and President Joe Biden are both Democrats, and the China-US relations are very intense,”It was noted by the outlet.
“If the visit eventually happens, it would not be a miscalculation but an intentional provocation by the US side,”Lu Xiang of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is an expert in US Studies and spoke to the Global Times. If Washington ignores Beijing’s warnings, “we will see the China-US relations fall off a cliff, for sure,”He concluded.
Song Zhongping is an expert in military affairs and TV commentary. He speculated that Pelosi may be trying to get points for Democrats before the next midterm elections. China won’t respond to too strongly because the Communist Party will be getting ready for its fall national congress.
“The US, on one hand, asks for China’s cooperation on issues related to Iran, North Korea and Russia, but on the other hand, keeps provoking China on core interests,”Song added that China could also respond to the three countries’ concerns by strengthening their relations, and even making security arrangements in Latin America.
Global Times commentator Hu Xijin went so far as to suggest that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) should send military aircraft to escort Pelosi’s plane and fly over Taiwan in a show of force.
“When sending PLA aircraft to fly across the island, we [China] must be fully prepared for an all-out military confrontation,”Hu spoke. “If the Taiwan military dares to open fire against PLA aircraft, then Taiwan military aircraft would be shot down and Taiwan military bases will be destroyed. So if the US and Taiwan authorities want all-out war, then the time for Taiwan liberation will come.”
Official Beijing has been no less direct in warning the US against Pelosi’s visit. Zhao Lijian (foreign ministry spokesperson) stated that the government would have agreed to a “grave impact” on Sino-American ties, violating the ‘One China’ policy and existing agreements between Washington and Beijing.
“If the US insists on going its own way, China will take firm and forceful measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The US must bear all the consequences of the visit,” Zhao said.
Global Times is the English-language broadsheet published by People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China’s sovereign territory, though the island has been run by the nationalist Kuomintang, who found refuge there after losing the civil war to the Communists in 1949.
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