WASHINGTON—As the United States moves forward with talks toward a bilateral trade deal with Taiwan, the State Department is expecting backlash from the Chinese regime, while hoping for the best.
The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of retaliating against other country’s decisions that involve what it deems as threats to its power. The regime’s response to a U.S.–Taiwan deal would be “all about Beijing’s decision matrix,” said David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs.
