U.S. think tank expert: Trump’s stance on China’s strategic competition remains unchanged, and his support for Taiwan remains unchanged

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on the 23rd local time in the United States for a three-day visit.

U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks on the 24th Eastern Time. Piero, director of the China Affairs Department of the "America First Policy Institute" (AFPI), a think tank with close ties to the Trump administration, Tozzi was interviewed by the Japanese media "Sankei Shimbun" and talked about President Trump's latest China policy and other issues. He analyzed that Trump has not changed his basic understanding of China as a strategic competitor, and his deterrence against China has basically not changed; as for the Taiwan Strait issue, his military support for Taiwan has not backed down, and his support has not diminished.

The report pointed out that Tocci, who is familiar with China's human rights issues and Taiwan policy, believes that Trump has not changed his understanding that "China is regarded as a strategic competitor that challenges the United States in the overall international situation." In addition, regarding the outside world's belief that the Trump administration is gradually shrinking its stance on Taiwan's defense, he also said that such observations are largely affected by China's "cognitive war."

In addition, some people believe that when Trump and Xi Jinping hold talks, the US government's recent basic policy on China has changed. Tocci said "there is no such thing." The Trump camp still believes that China under Xi Jinping is a country with a hegemonic orientation that hopes to take the lead and replace the United States as the leader of the future international order. Therefore, the basic policy of the United States to strengthen its system to contain China has not changed.

Tocci pointed out that the Trump administration has recently imposed economic sanctions on a number of China-related companies on the grounds of the Iran issue and Uyghur-related issues. This is the most direct example that the United States has not relaxed its vigilance against China. In addition, the National Unity and Progress Promotion Law implemented by the Chinese government in July also declares that China will enforce Chinese laws overseas, which also confirms China's intention to expand its international influence.

What goals do the leaders of the two countries hope to achieve at this US-China summit? Tocci believes that "Trump should currently want to maintain the stability of Sino-US relations. The biggest reason is that he is currently busy dealing with the Iran issue and the US mid-term elections." However, against this background, Trump still hopes to gain an economic advantage over China, including promoting the recovery of U.S. manufacturing capabilities in industries such as rare earths, artificial intelligence (AI), and shipbuilding.

He believes that under the current background, the Trump administration may adopt a more moderate stance on some issues in the short term and even free up room for negotiation. However, this is most likely a strategic adjustment in response to the situation, and does not mean that the long-term strategic competitive relationship between the United States and China has fundamentally changed.

As for the issues of Taiwan Strait security and U.S. support for Taiwan, which are of great concern to the outside world, Tocci said that some public opinion currently believes that the Trump administration is lowering its emphasis on Taiwan’s defense deployment, but relevant views may be affected by China’s official propaganda and cognitive warfare operations.

He pointed out that judging whether there are changes in U.S.-Taiwan relations should still be based on actual policies and measures, military cooperation, defense deployment and other specific actions, and cannot be judged solely on the basis of public remarks or the direction of public opinion. Tocci believes that the current U.S. defense support for Taiwan and military cooperation between the two sides still maintain a certain degree of stability.