October 29, 2021 9:46 am
Two rival foreign ministers are touring Europe this week: one from Beijing, the other from Taipei. It is an unprecedented situation that shows the extent to which the Taiwan affair has become a prominent diplomatic issue everywhere.
Chinese minister Wang Yi visited Athens, where China bought the port of Piraeus, and then Belgrade, the capital of a key country in the Chinese investment project and where the Serbian government boasts “an iron friendship” with China. Yi will represent Chinese number one Xi Jinping at the G20 summit scheduled in Rome over the weekend.
Less usual is the visit of the Taiwanese head of diplomacy Joseph Wu to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, before a presence described as “unofficial” in Brussels. Wu’s journey is part of the Taiwanese offensive to “exist” on the international stage despite the lack of recognition. At the same time, a Taiwanese economic delegation is in Lithuania.
This frenzy is no accident. In fact, Taiwan is at the center of the new Sino-American Cold War.
Beijing has made considerable efforts to prevent or at least curb Europe’s alignment with US positions on China. On October 26, Xi Jinping communicated by telephone to Emmanuel Macron that he would like to favor the European path towards strategic autonomy (with respect to the United States, of course).
Taiwan, for its part, wants to respond to Chinese attempts to marginalize the island from any international relationship. Any contact, even the slightest, is good news, such as the recent visit of French senators to Taipei, where they were received by President Tsai Ing-wen, arousing the ire of Beijing.
In fact, Europe is divided between a group of countries friends of Beijing and recipients of the investments of the new silk road, another group that harshly criticizes China and its regime and finally a third group of countries, such as France or the Germany, which seeks a “third way”, neither aligned with Washington’s positions nor too complacent towards Beijing. The latter option is increasingly difficult to follow.
On the subject of Taiwan we are witnessing a progressive radicalization of positions. US President Joe Biden has publicly stated that his country would defend Taiwan in the event of Chinese aggression, while the Taiwanese president confirmed to CNN the presence of US soldiers on the island to train local troops, and said she was confident. about the indispensable support from Washington.
The disappearance of Washington’s strategic ambiguity and Taiwan’s diplomatic activism have the effect of a red flag waving before China’s eyes. Xi said that the conquest of Taiwan is a goal that cannot be postponed “from generation to generation”.
For this reason, Beijing threatens anyone who dares to go too far, such as small Lithuania that has suffered the shakes of mighty China for developing a link with Taiwan. This is just the beginning. The existential clash seriously risks shaking international relations in the coming years.
(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)
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