Difficulties Hindering China’s Development and Unification; America Is Anxious

The School of International Relations at Renmin University of China and the Institute of East Asian Studies at National Chengchi University of Taiwan hosted the 19th Cross-Strait Peace Research conference on Oct. 27 in Beijing. Numerous academics from both sides of the strait shared their views on relations between the U.S. and China and across the strait. Particularly prominent at the conference was the view that in recent years, the United States has expanded its interference in the Taiwan issue, continuously playing the “Taiwan card” with the intention of curbing the development of mainland China. As the United States becomes increasingly anxious and desperate with respect to the Taiwan issue, its policies will also become increasingly volatile.

Experts and scholars attending the meeting discussed the reasons for America’s increased focus on Taiwan and the increasingly tense relationship between China and the U.S. Primarily, given China’s continuous development and growth along with capabilities that are beginning to match those of the United States, the U.S. imagines that China may surpass the United States in the future, something it feels increasingly anxious about and sees as a threat. Continued American intervention in the Taiwan issue is an attempt to use Taiwan to contain China, to contain or delay China’s development and even interrupt the rise and resurgence of the Chinese nation.

However, whether it is China’s development or China’s complete reunification, it is a process that cannot be stopped. China is fully prepared to deal with U.S. intervention and obstruction, and it is sufficiently determined and confident in facing the many challenges.

After many years of strategic games and competition, the United States has increasingly realized that although the competition between China and the United States is long-term and at times fierce, cooperation between China and the United States is still crucial. The Taiwan issue is at the center of China’s core interests, and handling the Taiwan issue well is the key to handling Chinese-U.S. relations.