By accident or design, Trump signals tougher China policy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Whether by accident or design, President-elect Donald Trump is signaling a tougher American policy toward China, sparking warnings from both the outgoing Obama administration and Beijing.
On Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said progress with the Chinese could be "undermined" by a flare-up over the sovereignty of Taiwan, the self-governing island the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with in 1979.
Trump has pledged to be more "unpredictable" on the world stage, billing the approach as a much-needed change from President Barack Obama's deliberative style and public forecasting about U.S. policy.
Max Baucus, the U.S. ambassador to China, spoke about the matter Saturday with China's vice foreign minister to reiterate America's one-China policy on behalf of the current administration.
"Succeeding a mostly upward U.S.-China relationship, Trump also needs to resist the light-headed calls for provocative and damaging moves on China by some hawkish political elites," said the commentary by Luo Jun.
Stephen Yates, a former national security aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who has been in touch with Trump advisers, said the call with Tsai was arranged by the transition team and showed the president-elect wants to rebalance the U.S. relationship with China.