‘I don’t know why we have to be bound by a one-China policy’: Trump questions continuing long-standing stance

US president-elect Donald Trump has questioned whether Washington should continue its one-China policy if Beijing does not make concessions on trade and other issues.

“I don’t know why we have to be bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Trump told Fox News Sunday in response to a question on his taking a phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, a move which broke with decades of US diplomatic tradition. The one-China policy recognises that Taiwan is part of China, but the US has remained ambiguous on the issue.

I don’t know why we have to be bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade

US PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP
Besides trade, Trump said China was not cooperating with the US on its handling of the yuan, on North Korea, and tensions in the South China Sea.

Trump’s comments come amid uncertainty over his pick for secretary of state – Washington’s top diplomat – with relatively unknown ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson seemingly topping the list after a search that included interviews with one-time Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-CIA director David Petraeus.

Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil. Photo: Bloomberg
China Foreign Affairs University professor Su Hao said it would be unusual for Trump to name someone with no foreign policy experience. “How much Trump and Tillerson, who both have no diplomatic experience, would be influenced by their rightist hawkish advisers will need to be closely watched,” he said.

Regarding Trump’s comment on the one-China policy, Renmin University international relations professor Pang Zhongying said the administration may play up the Taiwan issue, which could cause friction with Beijing. “It’s likely that Trump will use Taiwan to demand concessions from Beijing. The situation will be tricky,” he said.