US and Taiwan Sign First Official Trade Agreement... China Condemns US Exploitation of Taiwan

US-Taiwan Initiative First Agreement Signed
China Immediately Protests "Violation of One China Principle"

The United States and Taiwan have signed a bilateral trade agreement amid strong opposition from China.

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency on the 2nd, on the 1st (local time) in Washington DC, Ingrid Larson, Executive Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which serves as the de facto US embassy in Taiwan, and Hsiao Mei-chin, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, signed the first agreement under the "US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade."

The Taiwan Office of Trade Negotiations introduced that the agreement includes five agendas: customs administration and trade facilitation, sound legal work, domestic regulations on services, anti-corruption, and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as seven follow-up negotiation agendas including labor, environment, agriculture, digital trade, standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices. It also added that the agreement includes content related to high-level trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The Office stated, "This agreement establishes a solid legal foundation for economic and trade transactions between Taiwan and the United States," emphasizing that "it is a great opportunity for both sides to expand the substance of the agreement and develop it into a broader Free Trade Agreement (FTA)."

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen also said, "I hope to build a close partnership between Taiwan and the United States to provide more opportunities for Taiwan's economy and industry," and urged, "Please establish a solid foundation for concluding an FTA between the two countries through (follow-up) negotiations."

The United States has sought ways to build a separate channel with Taiwan, which was excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) involving 13 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, to achieve cooperation in the economic sector. The US-Taiwan Initiative was announced by the Biden administration in June last year; although it is not a formal FTA as it does not address tariff issues, it aims to strengthen trade relations with Taiwan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

China immediately opposed this. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out at a regular briefing on the 2nd that the United States had seriously violated the "One China" principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques (including the diplomatic recognition statement).

He expressed "strong dissatisfaction and stated that the United States has already been formally protested (diplomatic protest)." Spokesperson Mao criticized, "The so-called initiative is the United States' plundering of Taiwan under the banner of economic and trade, a baton that squeezes out blood," and "The ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan has shamelessly sold out the urgent interests of Taiwan compatriots and enterprises for personal gain."

He further demanded that the United States withdraw from the agreement, warning, "If it does not do so, the United States will bear full responsibility for the adverse consequences that arise."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.