Andrey Dagaev - about the Taiwan issue

in Forbes Sinologist Andrey Dagaev writes :

“Beijing’s new statements about its intention to resolve the Taiwan issue within the framework of the “one China” principle are not symbolic. They demonstrate the determination of the Chinese leadership to achieve progress in relations between Taipei and Beijing at a time when a party radically opposed to Beijing is heading the island administration for the third consecutive term.

Over the next four years, mainland China's policy towards the island will be implemented along four main vectors. The first is countering separatism. As the Ministry of Defense of the People's Republic of China noted in its previous statements, this group of actions can include military exercises around the island to practice its blockade. <…>. According to Taiwanese experts in the field of international relations, it will become common for Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force aircraft to cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait - the conventional border between its two banks. A signal about the inadmissibility of steps to secede the island will be sent through economic sanctions on a number of Taiwanese goods, in particular agricultural products.

The second direction is promoting unification. According to a circular issued in September by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council of the People's Republic of China, it will rely on the distribution of preferences for Taiwanese businesses, increased exchanges between various professional groups and meetings of politicians on both sides of the Strait.

Related to the previous one is Beijing’s vector to accelerate the integration of the economies of Taiwan and mainland China. The previously mentioned circular decided to establish a model integrated development zone in the southern province of Fujian, opposite Taiwan. Thus, they plan to make the province a key hub for interactions with the island, concentrating extensive resources at one point.

Beijing has repeatedly stressed the importance of countering foreign interference in the Taiwan issue. “This area of ​​work will use an arsenal of various tools, from declaring protests over meetings between Taiwanese officials and Western officials to putting pressure on Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies.”