Spain wants greater Chinese role in multipolar world

Ming Yang block will have ‘negative’ impact on UK-China relations; Putin to visit Beijing

Observing China is the essential newsletter to understand the UK-PRC relationship, explained in the context of global developments.

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Heads of state or foreign ministers of Spain, Russia, North Korea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Vietnam have all flocked to Beijing in the past week. The density of foreign dignitary visits, although notable, is not as out of the ordinary as another visit that took place in the past few days – that of Cheng Li-wun, Chairwoman of Taiwan’s opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT).

‘Opposing Taiwan independence’ can help keep war at bay, she opined after meeting with Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Taiwanese security officials claim that while Cheng was in Beijing – the first such meeting between the two nations in a decade – the People’s Republic of China (PRC) nearly doubled the number of military vessels in the East and South China Seas that it usually has – a statement which Beijing denies.

The KMT have stalled the ruling Democratic People’s Party’s (DPP) efforts to increase Taiwan’s defence budget by US$40 billion (£30 billion), which would include substantial purchases of American weapons to develop its asymmetric advantage. Her trip to the PRC reportedly coincided with crucial defence budget talks in Taipei, with her absence drawing further annoyance from some of her opposition peers.

Cheng has stated that she does not believe her pursuit of ‘reconciliation’ across the Taiwan Strait should come at the expense of necessary support from Washington. In any case, Xi will be hopeful that the timing of her visit to Beijing – just one month before Donald Trump, President of the United States (US) is due to visit – will give him leverage.

The KMT in Taipei and the CCP in Beijing are mulling the implementation of a number of measures in the aftermath of the meeting, such as the establishment of a regular communication channel between the two parties, and pushing for the full resumption of flights between Taiwan and the PRC, which have been disrupted as relations deteriorated in recent years.

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