Relations between China and the United States predicted to worsen due to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan
Relations between the United States and China will be significantly aggravated in the event of the visit of the speaker of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan.
Such a forecast on Saturday, July 30, in a commentary to Izvestia, was made by Andrei Karneev, deputy director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries.
“I think that he (Pelosi’s visit. – Ed.) Will definitely create a crisis moment in Sino-American relations, exacerbating already quite tense relations around the Taiwan Strait. Some demonstrative acts on the part of this or that country are not ruled out, ”Karneev noted.
According to him, in particular, China can launch missiles.
Earlier Saturday, it was reported that a US Air Force Boeing C-40C with Pelosi on board took off from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and headed for the Pacific Ocean. By now, he has landed in Hawaii.
On Friday, July 29, Pelosi began his tour of Southeast Asia. The speaker of the House of Representatives plans to visit Japan, Singapore and South Korea. However, the main reason for the worldwide media attention to Pelosi’s tour is her likely visit to Taiwan.
On July 28, Chinese and US leaders Xi Jinping and Joe Biden discussed a possible visit by Pelosi to Taiwan. During the conversation, the Chinese leader warned the American side about the consequences of meddling in Taiwan’s affairs.
A few days earlier, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei had stated that “the Chinese army will not quietly watch this.” Among the response measures, in particular, in China, they thought about creating a no-fly zone.
In addition, the Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times reported on July 29 that the Chinese military will conduct a firing exercise in the Taiwan Strait. They will take place near Pingtan Island in Fujian Province, the closest mainland Chinese territory to Taiwan.
On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin is in solidarity with Xi Jinping on the Taiwan issue and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. He stressed that Washington’s position on the Taiwan issue can only cause additional tension.
Official relations between the Chinese government and its island province broke down in 1949, when the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek, who lost in a civil war with the Communist Party of China, moved to Taiwan. Contacts between the island and mainland China resumed in the late 1980s. The United States openly supports the Taiwan authorities.