• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, September 22, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

US and Taiwan Ink Trade Deal as China Issues Warning

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
06/02/23
in Business, National, World
A man holds US, Taiwan flags

A man holds US, Taiwan flags. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The United States and Taiwan signed a trade deal Thursday aimed at deepening economic relations between both sides — in a move that has sparked a warning from Beijing.

The US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade looks to boost trade by streamlining customs checks, improving regulatory procedures, and establishing anticorruption measures between the United States and the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.

While Washington and Taipei do not have official diplomatic relations, they maintain unofficial ties through the de facto US embassy on the island, the American Institute in Taiwan.

The first agreement under the latest initiative was signed by representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, said the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) press office on Thursday.

The pact is “intended to strengthen and deepen the economic and trade relationship” between both sides, USTR spokesperson Sam Michel added in a statement.

Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi attended the signing ceremony, he said.

“We thank our Taiwan partners for helping us reach this important milestone and look forward to upcoming negotiations on additional trade areas set forth in the initiative’s negotiating mandate,” Michel said.

‘New Beginning’

Washington has remained a key ally and arms supplier to Taiwan despite switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. It is also the island’s second-largest trade partner. 

But Beijing detests any hint of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and other governments because it considers the self-ruled island its own territory.

“The deal that will be signed tonight is not only very historic but also signals a new beginning,” cabinet spokesman Alan Lin told reporters in Taipei, ahead of Thursday’s ceremony in the United States.

“Relevant tasks are yet to be completed…. Taiwan will continue to move towards a comprehensive FTA (free trade agreement) with the United States to ensure Taiwan’s economic security,” he added.

Taiwan’s government has described the deal as “the most comprehensive” trade agreement signed with Washington since 1979.

China warned Washington earlier on Thursday against signing any pact “with connotations of sovereignty or of an official nature with China’s Taiwan region.”

The United States “must not send the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces in the name of trade,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a media briefing.

Beijing has stepped up threats and rhetoric against Taiwan in recent years, increasing military drills in the seas around the island and working to cut off its official ties with countries around the world.

The issue prompts rare bipartisan agreement in the United States, with politicians including Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his Democratic predecessor Nancy Pelosi both meeting publicly with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen.

Washington unveiled plans for the trade negotiations in August in a show of support while Beijing was staging huge military drills in response to then-speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.

China lashes out at any diplomatic action that appears to treat Taiwan as a sovereign nation and has reacted with growing anger to visits by Western politicians.

In April, Beijing conducted three days of military exercises simulating a blockade of the island in response to McCarthy and Tsai meeting in California.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Chinese President Xi Jinping
World

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

by Staff Writer
September 22, 2023
US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis
Art

US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

by Staff Writer
September 19, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.
Opinion

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

by Stephen J. Lyons
September 4, 2023
US soldiers
National

Biden to Reform Way Military Handles Sexual Assault Cases

by Staff Writer
July 28, 2023
Women holding up a coathanger reading 'we love our bodily integrity' during a abortion protest.
National

First No-Prescription Birth Control Pill Approved in US

by Staff Writer
July 13, 2023
People visit the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai
World

China Unveils New Operating System Amid US Tensions

by Staff Writer
July 6, 2023
Next Post
Russian-Held City ‘Flooded’ After Dam Breach

Russian-Held City 'Flooded' After Dam Breach

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.

Florida Man Channels Benito Mussolini

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

Chinese President Xi Jinping

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

September 22, 2023
Man holding up a colored LGBT flag

France Sets Up Embassy Fund to Defend LGBTQ Rights

September 19, 2023
US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

September 19, 2023
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference

Japan PM to Replace Foreign and Defense Ministers: Reports

September 12, 2023
A man walks with his belongings through the rubble in an alleyway in the earthquake-damaged old city in Marrakesh on September 9, 2023

Morocco Quake Death Toll Passes 2,000: Ministry

September 10, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023

Opinion

Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
‘Deaths of Despair:’ Why Are US Suicides on the Rise?

An Inspired Choice to Lead the CDC

June 13, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.

Florida Man Channels Benito Mussolini

June 13, 2023
Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post