Damage to China’s Core Interests Must Not be Allowed

The U.S. government announced its plan for $5.85 billion in arms sales to Taiwan on September 21. This is the second time that the Obama administration has carried out such an act. U.S. conduct has severely violated the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiqués, especially the principles of the August 17 Communiqué; seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs; critically endangered China’s national security; damaged China’s peaceful unification process; and undermined Sino-U.S. relations. The Chinese side has expressed its strong indignation and resolute opposition to this.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have been a persistent issue. For a long time, the U.S. has treated Taiwan as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” by selling it weapons to assist in its defense and thus contain China. In 1979, China and the U.S. established diplomatic relations. However, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which framed and designated America’s so-called responsibility to Taiwan, including providing defense weapons and trying to forever maintain the yet to be unified situation across the Taiwan Strait.

In 1982, China and the U.S. jointly issued the August 17 Communiqué. The U.S. side clearly agreed that “it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time, to a final resolution.” Nearly 30 years have gone by and the U.S. not only has failed to carry out its promise, but has intensified its arms sales to Taiwan. According to incomplete statistics, the U.S. has sold arms to Taiwan more than 80 times in the past 30 years, with the total value surpassing $40 billion. The U.S.’ behavior is treachery, a failure to respect international relations norms and an act of noncompliance with international obligations. Such conduct really does not match its self-proclaimed image as a responsible superpower. Every time the U.S. side presents its large-scale arms sale plan to Taiwan, it inevitably causes setbacks in the Sino-U.S. relationship and affects cooperation between the two countries.

We never expected the national agenda of the United States to take precedence over fidelity and integrity. However, even from the national interest perspective, insisting on selling arms to Taiwan is not a wise move for the United States.

The situation in the Taiwan Strait entered a new period of peaceful development in May 2008, and both China and Taiwan have since continued to deepen exchanges and cooperation. This embodied the common aspirations of members of both sides of the strait, which was welcomed by the international community. The U.S. currently needs to address many internal and international troubles; alleviating the situation in the Taiwan Strait would be in line with its national interests. By continuing arms sales to Taiwan, certain elements in the U.S. are determined to turn the people’s attention on cross-strait relations from economic and cultural exchanges and confidence-building efforts back to preparation for a strong army and for war. Whatever the case, such an act cannot be said to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

In the beginning of 2011, the Sino-U.S. relationship entered a new period in which they build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and benefit for a win-win relationship. Both sides should strengthen dialogue and cooperation and together meet global challenges. In today’s world, China and the relationship between China and the U.S. are becoming more and more important every day. Re-enforcing cooperation and improving relations with China can only reduce the burden on the U.S. and add points to its domestic and international policies. It is difficult to compliment the U.S. on whether it is appropriately handling long-term versus short-term interests, the future versus the present and general versus local situations.

Some people in the U.S. claim that selling weapons to Taiwan would help the country to expand exports and increase employment. Certain congressmen even conducted calculations on the profit and employment that the latest arms sales to Taiwan might generate for the U.S. weapons industry. It shocked everyone that these people, especially the congressmen, had such short, tunnel vision. If people must quantify national interest, then Sino-U.S. cooperation can bring many more and much greater benefits to the United States. China is the second largest trading partner for the U.S., as is the U.S. to China; the bilateral trade volume will most likely exceed $400 billion in 2011. Chinese enterprises are investing in more and more projects in the United States, and several hundred — up to six to seven thousand American workers — are employed by these Chinese companies. Have American politicians ever thought about the pros and cons of arms sales to Taiwan and Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation? Have they considered the pros and cons of reducing or ceasing arms sales to Taiwan and the interference and damage these sales cause to the Sino-U.S. relationship?

The 21st century is a century of change and development. Compared to the time when China and the U.S. first established diplomatic relationships, whether internationally, cross-strait, or with each other, everything has changed dramatically. The Cold War has been over for nearly 20 years now and the pursuit of peace, the plan for development, and promotion of cooperation are the directions of the trend. Depending on balance of power and containment when handling relations between major powers is not only out of date but also unworkable. China’s development and strength is the destined trend and no one can block the Chinese people’s progress toward the great revival of its civilization and peaceful unification of the nation. The sustainable and stable development of Sino-U.S. relations is at the core of both countries’ mutual interests; whoever blocks the development of this relationship is picking up stones and throwing them at their own feet. No matter the perspective, if the U.S. tenaciously defends its policy on arms sales to Taiwan, it will do so against the trend of history — pursuing a policy made for a different time. If any American politician thinks that the U.S. can, on the one hand, command China to be a “responsible major power” and cooperate with the U.S. on various issues, but on the other hand irresponsibly damage China’s core interests without having to pay the price, they are making a glaring error.

The relationship between China and the U.S. is a huge ship, and it is sailing in the direction of cooperation and a win-win relationship. The damage from U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a huge reef right in the course of sail, should never be neglected. The U.S. must stop such acts that ultimately hurt China’s core interest. China always makes efforts to stabilize and develop the Sino-U.S. relationship. It strongly demands that the U.S. judge the time and situation correctly, right its wrongful policies and practices concerning the issue of arms sales to Taiwan and move in the same direction as the march of history. The U.S. must deeply reflect and make some drastic adjustments.