The game of the US
The American president confirmed that he had approved the sale of F-16s to Taiwan. He noted that the agreement still needs to be approved by Congress.
“They will use them in a very responsible way,” added Donald Trump. He also said the $8 billion agreement would support job creation in the United States. “It’s a lot of money and a lot of jobs.”
This would involve 66 aircraft destined for Taiwan. The sale could anger China and exacerbate the tensions already underway between the two largest global economies.
How Taiwan brillantly handled the trade war
Besides, Beijin must be upset that the trade war benefits some. Indeed, Taiwan is expected to lead the four countries known as the Asian dragons this year. The announcement comes from the Taiwanese government itself, which expects growth of 2.5% this year. This figure should enable it to beat South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, which are facing an economic slowdown.
The small country is benefiting in particular from the return of certain sectors of activity, pushed out of China by the taxes imposed on Beijing by Washington. The Taiwanese government has redoubled its efforts to benefit from the international context. The government launched a programme to encourage Taiwanese companies with production facilities in China to invest in Taiwan. With some success.
Since the beginning of the programme, some 100 companies have responded to the call: $16 billion of investment on the national territory is on the table for a total of some 43,000 job creations, according to the Ministry of Economy cited by Bloomberg.
This is enough to raise Taipei’s hopes, which now expects growth of 2.58% for 2020 and a rebound in its exports to 3.58%, compared to a decline of 1.24% estimated for this year. This is despite China’s measures to restrict the number of Chinese tourists travelling to the nationalist island.
The complex relation with Honk Kong
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Bureau of Affairs of the State Council of State Affairs, warned on Monday the administration of the Taiwan Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) to stop interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs and stop its connivance with criminals.
Mr. Ma made these remarks in response to a question on the PDP’s statement on the recent actions of Tsai Ing-wen and the relevant departments trying to assist some Hong Kong residents in their visit to Taiwan on behalf of “humanitarian aid”.
He called on the PDP administration to stop undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong.
“By turning a blind eye to the facts and confusing good with evil, the PDP administration has not only helped to hide the crimes of a small number of violent radicals in Hong Kong, to encourage their acts of smearing Hong Kong, but has also announced their protection,” said Mr. Ma. “Such acts will make Taiwan a’haven for criminals’.”
