China is preparing political, economic, legal and other means to counter external sanctions – the country previously accumulated experience in dealing with the trade war that the US launched against China under the Trump administration. The political influence of the current escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has gone beyond Eurasia. The secessionist forces in the island of Taiwan have been clamoring that the Chinese mainland will take advantage of the crisis to use force against them, turning the island into the next Ukraine, in an attempt to fan the flames of the Taiwan people\u2019s vigilance against the mainland, as well as to seek support from the international community in general and the US-led Western world in particular.
\nIn the US, discussions about Taiwan are also emerging. Some believe that the island is not the Ukraine and that it is more important in terms of economy, geopolitics, supply chain and connection with the West. Therefore, they tend to think Taiwan\u2019s business is equivalent to US\u2019 business, or the business of democracy. Some even argue the US should prepare for dealing with both China and Russia simultaneously. Due to their hype, the Ukraine crisis has, to some extent, become a matter of the Taiwan Island, with an attempt to increase the cost of the Chinese mainland in future moves. The more the US hypes up the Taiwan question during the Ukraine crisis, the more it shows relevant US political forces\u2019 anxiety and powerlessness to stop the trajectory of the cross-Straits relations tilting toward the Chinese mainland. China will eventually realize its national reunification. If the West sanctions and intimidates China at that time, it will show that the West has underestimated the determination and ability of China to achieve its reunification. The island of Taiwan is not Ukraine. The two are not comparable. The reason is not that the island is economically or politically significant.
\nThe Taiwan question is China\u2019s own internal affair, and there is no room for foreign forces to bargain or intervene. The determination of the Chinese government is unshakable to firmly safeguard China\u2019s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to realize its national reunification. The price the West will have to pay for its sanctions against Russia is different from that for its sanctions, if any, against China. China is the world\u2019s second-largest economy. Quite some economists predict that China could overtake the US as the world\u2019s largest economy within a decade. It is the largest trading partner of most countries worldwide, with an irreplaceable position in the global industrial chain, supply chain, value chain, and regional and global influence. Any severe sanction against China will significantly backfire. It will be a \u2018lose-lose\u2019 situation from any point of view. The question is whether the island of Taiwan is important enough for the West to squander decades of economic gains, which the welfare of their people depend on.
\nIt is well known that the West is turning inward, focusing more on domestic affairs and not devoting too much attention and resources to international affairs. This makes the notion of severing ties with China for the sake of the island of Taiwan even more extreme.
\nBesides, China has the capacity and moral foundation to deal with possible Western sanctions. Admittedly, the Ukraine crisis shows a worrying trend in which the US and the West are increasingly rallying against their geopolitical and security adversaries. Any wise decision should include an anticipation of and response to any possible outcome of sanctions by the US and the West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China is preparing political, economic, legal and other means to counter external sanctions – the country previously accumulated experience in dealing with the trade war that the US launched against China under the Trump administration. The political influence of the current escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has gone beyond Eurasia. The secessionist forces in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18,4547],"class_list":{"0":"post-247003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial","7":"tag-china","8":"tag-west-sanctions"},"yoast_head":"\n