Blinken: China refused to understand with the United States on Taiwan News

The US Secretary of State said China has put pressure on Taiwan, including the possibility of “using force” to achieve its goals.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said China has altered a decades-old understanding between Washington and Beijing on dealing with issues related to Taiwan’s status, and is now blocking the possibility of the use of force.

Blinken said Wednesday at an event organized by Bloomberg News that China has made decisions about putting more pressure on Taiwan, including the possibility of “using force to achieve its goals.”

Blinken said that the four-decade status quo — in which the United States recognized Beijing under the one-China policy and also supplied Taiwan with weapons for its defense — “helped make sure that there was no conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.”

“What has changed is this — a decision made by the government in Beijing that the status quo is no longer acceptable, and that they want to speed up the process by which they seek reunification,” Blinken said.

“That’s what changed drastically.”

He said Washington does not want a “cold war” and is not trying to rein in China, but the United States will be resolute in defending its interests.

He added that any disruption to Taiwan and its economy – the now dominant global power in the manufacture of vital advanced semiconductors for automobiles, appliances and consumer electronics – should be of concern to the entire world.

“If this is disrupted for any reason, it will have very serious consequences for the global economy.”

Blinken’s comments come on the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic third term victory at the five-year congress of China’s ruling Communist Party last week. It also comes amid Beijing’s statements that it will not give up the right to use force to unite Taiwan with mainland China, although it will strive for a peaceful solution.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said earlier on Wednesday that he expected Chinese officials under Xi to make greater efforts to wrest Taipei’s ultimate allies.

“It is plausible that our diplomatic situation will become more bleak,” Wu said.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly accused China of using House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August as a pretext to intensify military exercises around the island, which Beijing claims as its territory.

On Wednesday, Biden said at a meeting of his top military advisers that the United States did not seek conflict with China and that the Chinese president knew that.

The meeting came on the heels of Biden’s launch of his National Security Strategy earlier this month, which called for a “rival China” and impeded its efforts to reshape global affairs.